A Light in the Darkness Rewritten
by BabyCharmander
Summary: BabyCharmander is a young, orphan Charmander. Being a Fire type, she is a light in the darkness... not just a physical darkness, but a spiritual darkness as well. Rated T for religious content pertaining to Christianity, violence, and censored swearing.
1. Prologue

Hiya folks. Remember my old fic, _A Light in the Darkness_? Well… this is a re-written version of it. Completely re-written. From Prologue to Epilogue. I trashed the other fic (though it's still here on FFN if you care to read it, though I wouldn't recommend it) and started again from scratch. I spent a long time writing this. It's already finished writing, and I'll be posting a chapter a week. Hope you enjoy.

**Warning:** If you take offense to things relating to Christianity, then please click back on your browser now. Although there is nothing pertaining to the religion in this prologue, there will be in later chapters. If you still read on and are offended, feel free to flame me. I'm a fire element; I enjoy the heat. :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon; Nintendo and Game Freak do. However, I do own the characters in this fanfic, so do NOT use them without permission!

Now, as I always say, ON WITH THE FIC!

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"_And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." –John 1:5_

Light always conquers Darkness. It is a proven fact. Darkness cannot stand the Light. But is defeating the Darkness truly as easy as shining a little bit of scintillating light within it?

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The sun shone through the small gaps in the trees, its rays glistening on the scales of a large mother Charizard and her mate, a Kecleon. Their nest was a wide hole in the ground, a foot or two deep, covered with leaves, grass, and other bits of foliage to make it soft for them to lie on. The nest was in the middle of a small clearing in the Viridian forest, in an area where trainers rarely ventured due to the dangerous creatures that lived there.

In her arms, the Charizard held several orange eggs. She rocked them back and forth gently, singing softly in her native language. Her Kecleon mate rubbed his paw on one of the eggs, smiling.

"How much longer until they hatch?" he questioned, not taking his eyes off his soon-to-be children. His paw started to turn an orange color identical to the egg's color as he rubbed it, as the Kecleon species had a tendency to blend into the colors surrounding them.

The Charizard stopped her song to answer. "It's been three months so far, so just another month," she replied quietly. She continued singing again, her voice comforting the unborn creatures within the eggs. "_Chrrr chaaarrzaaa chhaaazr cha chr za chaaaahh…_"

"You never told me what that means, Esther." The Kecleon's yellow-striped face looked up at his mate's bright orange face.

"That's because I can't, Peter," Esther replied, averting her gaze from her children to her mate. "I told you, it's untranslatable from my language to the basic Pokemon tongue."

Pokemon evolution-families all shared one language that no other Pokemon families understood, but when talking amongst other species, they would use a universal Pokemon language. However, some things, like Esther's song, could not be translated.

"Still, does it have any meaning?" Peter gave a slight laugh, crossing his arms and giving his mate an amused look. "It would be somewhat silly of you to sing a meaningless song to our children."

"It does have a meaning…" Esther responded. She set her eggs down and wrapped her long tail around them, keeping them warm. "It gives comfort to those who are in deep sorrow or worry… It explains that no situation is truly hopeless, and that whenever something bad happens, something good happens, too."

"And that isn't translatable to basic tongue?"

Esther laughed. "The Char family language is more complex than you would think."

There was a pause, neither one of the soon-to-be parents saying anything for a while. Esther watched her eggs, singing quietly to them once more. Peter curled up near the eggs, looking into the deep forest surrounding them.

Then, quite suddenly, Peter jumped up, ears twitching visibly. He had acute hearing, and, because of this, could hear something approaching them quickly. His body started to fade, melting into the background, save for the red stripe around his belly.

"We have to get out of here," he said, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Why?" Esther asked, somewhat alarmed. "What is it?"

"It's Scar."

That was all that needed to be said. The Charizard quickly wrapped her tail tightly around her batch of eggs, though loose enough not to break them. She spread her wings, preparing to fly, and waited for her husband to crawl onto her back to fly with her. However, the red stripe stayed where it was, not moving towards the Charizard.

"What are you waiting for?" Esther asked. "We have to hurry!"

"I'm counting the eggs to make sure they're all there…" Peter replied. His invisible eyes darted around the orange spheres that Esther was holding, counting each and every one. A sudden wave of panic washed over him when he realized that two of the eggs were absent. "No…! W-we're missing two!"

Esther's eyes widened as she looked from her batch of eggs to the depths of the forest. Now the sound of feet rushing through grass could be heard in the distance. "Find them!" she exclaimed, her voice high and panicked. "Hurry! _Hurry!_"

Peter got down on all fours, scrambling around the nest in search of his lost children. Esther watched nervously, occasionally looking into the trees behind her. After several minutes, the invisible Kecleon picked up the small orange objects."Found them!" he announced, relief evident in his voice.

Esther heaved a great sigh. "Good, now let's get out of here…"

Peter nodded in agreement and started to climb onto his mate's back—only to freeze when he heard a snarling voice behind him.

"I don't think so!"

Esther and Peter gasped as several blurs darted around them. The blurs stopped, one by one, revealing twelve fierce, giant Scythers, each one bigger than the last. The Scyther that was the last to appear was even bigger than Esther, his scythes larger than her wings. His wings were ripped in some areas, and a large scar tore across his right eye. The pupil in this eye was so grey that it was hardly visible, signifying that the eye was blind.

Scar gave a laugh that caused the young couple to shiver. "So, you're trying to bring some fire-elemental Charmanders into the forest, are you?" He frowned, glaring at Esther. "Well we can't allow that, can we?" He turned to his fellow bugs, which nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Please, leave us alone!" Esther cried, her grip tightening very slightly on her batch of eggs. This couldn't be happening… They had already moved twice to make sure that Scar wouldn't find them! Apparently that wasn't enough…

Scar held out his claw, pointing it towards the mother Charizard. All of the Scythers watched this claw intensively. "Fire elementals aren't welcome here, and you know that well. You had your chance to leave, and you wasted it… so say goodbye, Esther!" Scar smirked, swiping his claw into the air, signaling the other Scythers to attack.

Esther screamed as the twelve giant mantises leapt towards her, slicing at her viciously. "HELP ME, PETER!" she roared, trying her best to protect her unborn children. "HELP!"

Peter watched the scene in horror, invisible to the eyes of the Scythers. He started backing away, his entire body trembling in fear. Esther was too busy protecting her eggs to fight back, and the Scythers were attacking too fast for her to even charge a fire ball. But if he assisted his mate, the Scythers would realize his presence, and attack him, too…

"HELP ME, PETER!" Esther screamed again, her voice weaker this time.

"Your mate isn't here to help you this time, lizard-girl!" Scar snarled. He held up his claw again, and instantly all of the bugs stopped attacking.

Esther, injured and weak, dropped to the ground. A pool of her own blood surrounded her, flowing from the large cuts across her body. "Peter… you've got to help me…" she whispered, her breath coming out in short, weak gasps.

But Peter continued to back away. He wasn't looking at his mate, but rather at the large claws of the Scythers. They were covered in Charizard's blood… and they would soon be covered in Kecleon's blood if he didn't run. He finally spun around, fleeing in fear. He didn't notice the two eggs that he had been carrying slipping out of his grasp. They fell out of his paws, one rolling into a nearby stream, another rolling into a hole by the roots of a tree.

Esther was the only one who noticed the red stripe fleeing from the nest. "Peter… no…" she breathed, tears streaming down her face.

"Now, let's take care of these…" Scar bent down, biting the Charizard's tail. His fangs sunk deep into her skin, causing her to cry out in pain. The tail unwrapped, spilling the eggs everywhere. Scar raised his large, clawed foot over one of the eggs.

Esther saw this, and, despite her weakened state, raised her head in alarm. "_NO!_" she cried frantically. "Leave them alone! Kill me instead, please! Just don't hurt my babies!"

Scar ignored the mother's cries, and crushed the egg beneath his foot.

Suddenly, an unknown strength burned within Esther's heart. A wall of fire suddenly surrounded her, causing the Scythers around her to back away in surprise. The fire continued to burn around her, flaring wildly. Moments later, the Charizard leapt out of the midst of the flames, looking completely different. Her scales were now white and red, as was her tail flame and her eyes. She roared fiercely, lashing her tail behind her.

Scar's eyes widened in shock at what had just taken place, but he quickly shook it off. "Don't just stand around, fools! Grab her!" he commanded.

The Scythers, however, stood their ground, quaking, and staring fearfully at the strangely-colored Charizard.

"I said grab her!" Scar roared. He kicked one of his comrades forward, and instantly Esther leapt at the Scyther, attacking it savagely. The others took this chance to grab her: Two of them seized her arms between two of their claws, one stomped on her tail to stop it from lashing about, and another one wrapped his arm around her neck and pointed his claw at her throat, warning her not to attack.

Scar nodded in approval before stomping up to Esther, making sure that she was watching him. Once he saw that her red and white eyes were staring at him intently, he smirked and smashed one of the eggs beneath his foot.

Esther roared again, struggling against the Scythers' grip. A few other bugs rushed up to assist their companions in keeping her from attacking.

Esther was forced to watch Scar stomp on her eggs again and again until none of them were left alive. Her body slowly became limp, and the Scythers allowed her to slump to the ground, sobbing.

Scar laughed. He laughed at the Charizard's pain and laughed at the death of her children. "I can make all of this pain go away," he told the sobbing dragon. "In fact, I can do it right now."

Esther looked up just in time to see Scar's large claw pierce through her heart.

After that, she saw no more.

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Well, there's the first chapter for ya'. I know it was somewhat violent, and I apologies. Also, I know that it is impossible for Charizards and Kecleons to breed in the Pokemon games, but I don't like that idea. I personally think that they should be able to, because both are lizards. I don't see WHY Kecleon has a Ground egg group.

Mur, anyway… you can review if you want. Flames are accepted, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and general praise would be all right, too. (Though I'd prefer you tell me specifically what you liked/disliked, rather than just "lol grate stry riet mor/wtf that suked u r gey". :P) I'll post the next chapter in a week. Until then, see ya'.


	2. Lighting the Match

Hiya folks again! Time for another chapter! But first let's reply to the reviews…

dragon 1111: You send something like this in an email, not a review. Anyway, your story was four lines long and done in script format (and poorly done script format at that), and was thus violating FFN's rules (no script format allowed). And if you knew virtually nothing about Kirby, why did you write a story about it in the first place?

Flameboo: Thank you. :D And woah, that's weird that our stories had the same titles. XD

The Cougar: While I appreciate your review, I really wish that you would have given it a bit more depth. ;

Zero Kirby: H'lo LMK! Thanks for the review:3

Now that that's over, time for the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo and Gamefreak do. However, I do own the characters in this story, and you may not use them without my permission!

**Warning: **The Christianity stuff I mentioned earlier starts in this chapter. It's not too late to click that back button, you know.

ON WITH THE FIC!

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Something was wrong.

She was used to being treated gently. She was used to being picked up carefully and being slowly rocked back and forth in calming motions. She was used to hearing that faint, muffled song coming from somewhere just beyond her reach… Though she did not understand its words, she felt calmed by them.

But now… everything was different. She was being treated roughly and being tossed about. She felt herself being dropped, picked up, then dropped once more. She could hear faint shouts coming from that place just beyond her reach rather than the comforting song. Something was wrong… but _what?_

Scar walked around the bloodstained nest, kicking at the stillborn Charmanders as he walked past them. He had enjoyed killing them… not only was he taking revenge on what had happened years ago, but he was also aiding the people of the forest, who were mainly Bug and Grass types; both weakened by fire.

The Scyther then strode up to Esther's corpse, observing it with a curious eye. Her white scales were now fading back into orange, and her red scales fading back into yellow. What had caused that strange transformation, anyway? The mantis had never seen it happen in any kind of Pokemon, let alone a Charizard.

Scar was suddenly started from his thoughts when one of his herd members called out to him. "Hey, look over here! They tried to sneak one away from us!" they said, approaching a tree. There was a small, orange Charmander egg in a hole by the tree's roots.

Scar frowned as he approached it. "A bit of an obvious hiding place, don't you think?" he questioned, gazing back at his herd members. The other bugs nodded in agreement. "I wonder who hid it here…" The Scyther pondered this for a moment, then stomped his foot, cursing loudly. "G d it! Peter was here!" he shouted angrily.

A few Scythers gave startled gasps and murmured amongst each other. One of them spoke up. "But Sir! We never saw him!"

"He's a Kecleon, you moron!" Scar snapped. "Kecleons can turn invisible! He must have hidden the egg and run off, the little coward…"

"Let's go after him, then!" another Scyther suggested, stepping forward and raising a claw. "He deserves death just as much as Esther for trying to bring Fire elements into the forest!"

"There's no use now," Scar hissed. "He'll be long gone by now… but if we ever find him, I'll be the one to kill him, not you. Remember, this is _my _revenge…" He then turned his gaze back to the egg and started to raise his foot, but paused. "Hm… Anyone wanna see what these things look like before I crush it?"

A murmur of agreement resounded throughout the small herd.

"All right, then!" Scar exclaimed with a smirk. He lowered his foot and raised his claw, and in one quick movement the eggshell fell into two pieces, revealing the tiny, premature hatchling.

Everything was bright in an instant. She was completely blinded, and covered her face in her tiny paws. _This wasn't supposed to happen! _She squirmed in pain, flailing around in the clear fluid that used to engulf her inside the egg. _It hurts out here… It hurts! It's so cold… _

"There you have it," Scar announced, turning back to look at his herd. "Pathetic, isn't it?" He gave a cruel chuckle as he turned back to the hatchling. "Hello, Charmander." He raised his claw. "Goodbye, Charmander."

That was when _he_ was completely blinded. A bright, glowing form swooped down at the Scythers, spinning around wildly. Scar covered his eyes in his claws in pain and waited for the glow to dim before uncovering them.

The first things the Scyther noticed were the creature's sapphire blue eyes. He wasn't sure, but there was something about those eyes that made him feel so guilty and ashamed that he couldn't bear to look at them. He quickly averted his gaze, covering his face once more.

The other Scythers felt the same way when they met the creature's gaze, and turned away as well, covering their faces. One of the bugs—possibly either more bold or foolish than the others—stared at the creature anyway. His eyes widened, his jaw gaped, and his face turned wan in fear. He took a few steps back, making a fearful stuttering sound.

"Wh-what is it?" another Scyther questioned, lifting one of his claws.

"It's… it's…" the Scyther started. He swallowed, and the words came out with some difficulty due to the trouble he had believing them. "It's _Mew_!"

All at once the Scythers uncovered their faces and stared at the creature in their midst. Hovering about two feet off the ground was a slender, pale pink, glowing creature with a tail nearly double the length of its body. The Scyther was right: it was Mew… or a Mew-like creature, anyway.

Scar, for the first time in many years, trembled in fear. He continued to stare at the magnificent creature, mouth agape. Finally, he screamed out a command to his herd. "Everybody run, _now!_"

The bug Pokemon quickly obeyed, fleeing for their lives. Mew stopped glowing and stood, or rather, floated, still in the middle of the clearing. It calmly hovered towards the premature Charmander, placing its paw on the creature's head.

She felt something touch her, and winced. She reluctantly opened her eyes for the first time to find a gentle face gazing at her. Its bright, sapphire-blue eyes twinkled at her. Something told her that everything was going to be alright… that she could just sleep, and not worry about anything… just go to sleep…

"How are you feeling?"

She opened her eyes to find a slender, catlike creature standing on a tree branch before her. Wait… _On a tree branch!_ She frantically looked down to find that she was up at least twenty feet in the air on a small tree branch.

Seeing the Charmander panic, the creature gently stroked her back in an attempt to calm her. "It is alright…" he said. "You will not fall; I will make sure of that. Now tell me, how are you feeling?"

"A-alright…" the Charmander stuttered. She suddenly covered her mouth in her paws. "What the--? I can talk…!"

The cat laughed. "I gave you a boost of intelligence while you were sleeping. You will not survive in this world if you do not know how to talk, walk, or even think properly."

"Oh…" The Charmander gave the creature an inquisitive look, studying him for a moment. She suddenly jerked back, eyes wide in realization. Along with the knowledge of how to walk, talk, and do other things, the creature had given her the knowledge of other common-known facts. "You're _Mew!_"

The creature laughed once more. "I am _a _Mew, not _the _Mew."

"But… according to the information you gave me… there are only two of each legendary at a time! Are you… Mew's mate?"

The Mew shook his head. "No." The Charmander waited, but the Mew never elaborated.

"Well… what's your name?" the little lizard questioned curiously. She paused for a minute, pondering something. "And… what's my name?"

"I am Bartholomew," the catlike creature explained. "And you do not have a name as of yet."

"Oh." The nameless Charmander stared up at Bartholomew, wondering what she should ask him next. She thought about back to when she had been released from her egg… It had been under odd circumstances. She had hatched far earlier than she should have, and she had not hatched on her own. Perhaps her mother had helped her? Wait… _her mother!_ "…Bartholomew, where is my mother?"

The Mew's expression was unreadable when he answered. "She is… far away from here, yet she is right beneath us."

The nameless Charmander blinked, confused. "I don't understand."

Bartholomew frowned, looking away. "I am allowed to show you at any time…" he stated, more to himself than to the Charmander. "But whether it be now or a hundred years from now, I must do it. And let me tell you," he looked back at the lizard, "you will not like it either way. Do you want me to show you?"

The Charmander blinked, now unsure if she wanted to know the answer. He said that she wouldn't like the answer… but if she never knew, then she would be curious about it for the rest of her life. Not wanting the latter to happen, she nodded her head. "Yes… please show me."

Not looking back at her, Bartholomew moved himself as well as the nameless Charmander off of the branch using his powers, and gently brought her down to the ground.

The nameless creature's scales turned a sickly pale color as she stared down into what used to be her nest. Her mother lay in the center, surrounded by dry blood, crushed eggshells, and dead Charmander fetuses. The Charizard's wings were torn in many places, and her body was covered in large cuts and bruises. However, the most horrific thing that the nameless Charmander saw was her mother's eyes. They were cold, blank, and gave off no reflection whatsoever.

The nameless Charmander felt a wave of nausea pass over her, and started fall to her side. Bartholomew caught her before she hit the ground. She stayed in the Mew's arms, tears rolling down her face.

"I am sorry that you are so upset," he whispered, setting the lizard back onto her feet. "But I am, however, not sorry that I did not help them. I was not instructed to."

It took a while before the words sunk in. "What."

"I was not instructed to save your mother. I feel pity for you, but-"

"Y-you let her die." The Charmander started to back away, eyes wide. She was angry now that she had learned that her mother's death could have been prevented, but afraid at the same time. Perhaps this Mew would let _her _ die as well…?

"You must understand, I can only do what I am instructed," Bartholomew explained. He seemed completely calm even though he noticed the Charmander's hatred and fear rising rapidly.

"Who instructed you to… to do this…?" Her eyes squinted shut as she lowered her head in sorrow. Her paws balled into fists, trembling. She couldn't believe it… This Mew, who had seemed so nice, had practically committed an act of murder.

"The Creator did." Bartholomew still remained in his strange state of calm, the emotion not wavering in the least. He watched as the lizard's anger lowered, though just a little.

"And just who is the Creator?" She uncurled her fists and looked back up at the Mew, her short tail twitching in annoyance behind her. _What kind of person would tell someone to not help one who was being killed? _she thought. _And what kind of name is the "Creator", anyway? What did he create?_

Bartholomew spread his arms out in a gesture as he spoke. "The Creator is the one who made everything," he explained, as though he had read her thoughts. "He also has a will for everything. Everything He wants to be done will be done in one way or another."

"So he wanted my mother to die?" The nameless Charmander's anger started to rise again. _What kind of sick freak would want to kill someone? _she asked herself. _If He created everything, it sure looks like He didn't like what He created, seeing as killing His creations is part of His plan. He probably hated my mother, and He wanted me to suffer, too, after her death, just because I'm her offspring, or something…_

"Yes, but not because of what you are thinking," the Mew answered, again, sounding as though he had read her thoughts. "It was part of His will, and unless it was done, bad things would happen."

The Charmander didn't know how much more of this she could take. It didn't make sense… Killing her mother would prevent bad things from happening? It didn't make sense… He was lying… He had to be… "Stop!" she yelled. "Stop_ lying!"_

The nameless Charmander's eyes squinted shut again as she charged at the Mew, tiny claws outstretched. She expected to feel her claws slicing through his skin, but, instead, felt them pass through the air didn't. She stumbled to a halt, opening her eyes and blinking a few times in confusion. The lizard then turned back to look at Bartholomew to figure out what had happened, and gasped.

Every inch of Bartholomew was glowing to the point where it was almost blinding to look at him. His eyes turned completely sapphire blue and pupil-less. He held out his arms as silver and gold robes appeared around his body. Two small, sparkling wings sprouted out of his shoulders and bent behind his head, looking like a feathery headdress. Another giant set of wings burst from his lower back, wrapping around the robes on his legs. Finally, a third set of wings grew out of the middle of his back, these ones twice as large as the second set. They beat steadily behind him, keeping him airborne.

"Do you think I am lying _now?_" he questioned, his voice echoing.

The nameless Charmander stood in awe, but finally squinted her eyes shut yet again. He was telling the truth… he wasn't lying. She trembled, thinking this over. If he was telling the truth, that meant that he really was following the commands of the Creator. If _that _was true, then that meant that this Creator really _did _ kill people to fulfill his will.

"E-even if you are telling the truth…" she started, opening her eyes again, "I don't want to be with you if you follow the commands of Someone who _kills_ people just for some stupid will."

Bartholomew's face darkened. "You do not understand," he stated, frowning. "He does everything for a plan-"

"A plan to what?" the Charmander shouted. "A plan to make me feel miserable? A plan to ruin my life?" She didn't give him time to answer. "I don't want to hear any more of this!" She turned, fell to the ground, and started to dart away on all fours. "GOODBYE!"

Bartholomew watched, expression unreadable once more. He watched the Charmander until she was out of his sight. He stared for a few seconds before slowly fading away.

The Charmander scampered through the dark Viridian forest, tears streaming down her face. _Why?_ she asked herself as she ran. _Why did I have to be born into a world like this with no parents? Why did the first person I meet have to be that… that horrible Mew?_

She finally curled up beneath a towering oak tree, sobbing. _It's not fair…It's not fair that all this happened to me… It's not fair…_

The tiny Charmander, so upset and focused on being sorry for herself, didn't notice as something started to approach her. It buzzed over her head, several feet in the air. Its large red eyes observed her, and narrowed in anger. It started to lower itself down, making a buzzing sound as its wings beat quickly.

The Charmander heard this buzzing sound and looking up. She gasped, then, and quickly jumped out of the way as a Beedrill dashed downward, stabbing one of its stingers into the ground, just barely missing the little lizard.

"Wh-who are you?' the orange-scaled Pokemon stuttered, starting to shake visibly. _Now what? What **else** can possibly go wrong?_

"That doessss not matter," the Beedrill hissed. "What mattersssss issss that YOU are tressssspasssssing on my nesssst!" He held up his stingers again, pointing them at the Fire Pokemon dangerously.

"I-I w-wasn't go-gonna do anything…" the Charmander whimpered as she backed away. _Maybe that Creator Guy wants to kill me, now…_

"Why sssshould I believe you? You are a Fire Pokemon, and Fire Pokemon are a danger to ussss!" the giant bee growled, holding up his two stingers again.

"D-danger?"

"Yesss… That issss why bug Pokemon like Ssssscar are trying to ekssssssterminate all Fire Pokemon in the foressssst," the bug explained.

"Scar…?" the Charmander questioned. The name sounded vaguely familiar…

"You do not know who Ssssscar is?" The Beedrill gave a buzzing laugh. "Then you will find out ssssoon… I will let him deal with you…" With that, the bee buzzed off into the night.

The nameless Charmander whimpered, and scampered under another tree. _Scar… that must be the one who killed my mother... No, the one who the Creator let kill my mother… And Bartholomew didn't stop him…_ She scowled at the thought. _He said it was for his Master's plan or something… It doesn't sound like a brilliant plan to me…_

Still angry at what the Mew had done, or rather, had let been done, the little Charmander soon drifted off to sleep…


	3. Lighting the Lantern

Hiya folks, again. Here's the next chapter, and now I shall reply to the reviews!

The Cougar- That's all right. Thanks.

...wha-? That's all the reviews? D: Oh well.

Disclaimer- I do not own Pokemon, Nintendo/Game Freak does. However, I DO own the characters in this fic, and they may not be used without my permission!

Now, on with the fic!

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Peter got down on all fours, scrambling around the nest in search of his lost children. Esther watched nervously, occasionally looking into the trees behind her. After several minutes, the invisible Kecleon picked up the small orange objects."Found them!" he announced, relief evident in his voice.

Esther heaved a great sigh. "Good, now let's get out of here…"

Peter nodded in agreement and started to climb onto his mate's back—only to freeze when he heard a snarling voice behind him.

"I don't think so!"

Esther and Peter gasped as several blurs darted around them. The blurs stopped, one by one, revealing twelve fierce, giant Scythers, each one bigger than the last. The Scyther that was the last to appear was even bigger than Esther, his scythes larger than her wings were. His wings were ripped in some areas, and a large scar tore across his right eye. The pupil in this eye was so grey that it was hardly visible, signifying that the eye was blind.

Scar gave a laugh that caused the young couple to shiver. "So, you're trying to bring some fire-elemental Charmanders into the forest, are you?" He frowned, glaring at Esther. "Well we can't allow that, can we?" He turned to his fellow bugs, which nodded and murmured in agreement.

"Please, leave us alone!" Esther cried, her grip tightening very slightly on her batch of eggs. _Someone, please save us!_ the Charizard prayed silently in her mind.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash, temporarily blinding the Scythers. They held their claws in front of their faces, wincing in pain. Once they regained their vision, they uncovered their faces to find Mew glaring at them threateningly.

"IT'S MEW!" one of the Scythers screamed, eyes wide with fear. "RUN!"

The rest of the Scythers obeyed, nearly tripping over each other in an attempt to rush back into the forest. Scar stayed, however, eyes narrowing. He looked right at Mew's face, then at the Kecleon and Charizard's. "We'll be back," he hissed before buzzing after his herd.

Peter and Esther just stared in awe at what happened. One moment they had been surrounded by a herd of Scythers, the next, the Scythers were running away from a legendary Pokemon. "Th-thank you…" Peter breathed. "Thank you very mu-" He paused, noticing that the Mew was nowhere to be seen.

A month later, the little nest was bursting with activity as tiny, newly-hatched Charmanders moved about. They crawled about the nest, wrestling with each other, trying to talk, and playing.

One of the Charmanders, a little bit smaller than the others, hugged her mother contently. Peter walked up to her, patting her back. The Kecleon then looked into his mate's face, smiling happily. The Charizard smiled back.

Peter looked as though he was about to say something, but stopped. His ears perked up, and his eyes darted to an area in the forest. Instantly he turned invisible, aside from the red stripe on his belly. "E-Esther…!" he whispered, his voice high with panic.

"What, what is it?" Esther demanded, turning her head quickly towards where her mate was. "What's wrong?"

"Sc-Scar's back!" Peter whimpered, backing up a few steps.

Esther's eyes widened in fear. "No… no! He can't be!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot. "You have to be wrong…! Please… tell me you're wrong…" The Charizard covered her face in her claws. This couldn't be happening… Her children had just hatched a few days ago. It was hard enough to travel carrying a batch of eggs, but to travel carrying twenty hatchlings?

"I wish I was…" her Kecleon mate admitted.

Esther looked up. Now wasn't the time to panic. She had to get her children out of here, and quickly. "Children, children! Come to me, right now!" the Charizard cried. The little Pokemon looked at their mother, seeming confused. "Come to me RIGHT NOW!"

The hatchlings noted the seriousness in their mother's voice, and started to crawl towards her. The Charizard waited until they had gathered in front of her before reaching her arms down to pick them up.

As soon as she did, a deafening buzzing sound echoed throughout the forest. The Charmanders cried out, and Esther jerked her head up, face turning pale in horror. "No…!"

The nest was instantly surrounded by a mass of Beedrill, Butterfree, Dustox, and other flying Bug Pokemon, their wings buzzing so loudly that nothing else could be heard. A yellow powder fell from their wings and covered Esther, who leaned over her children to protect them from it, coughing. She lied on the ground, her wings and tail wrapped around herself and her arms wrapped around her children. The Stun Powder caused her body to freeze up, leaving her completely vulnerable… but she could at least protect her young… Maybe Scar would forget about them… She glanced to her side to find that Peter was already gone. At least he was safe…

Once the cloud of flying bugs passed over, a giant Scyther stepped out of the forest, tall and intimidating. He stood right in front of Esther, who trembled fearfully. He stared at her for a moment, frowning. "You realized you had a chance to leave the forest, did you not?" he questioned. "You realized that you could have left the forest and you and your family would have been safe? No… obviously you didn't."

"No…" Esther wheezed, trying her best to talk despite her limited movement. "Humans lie beyond the forest… They could… easily snatch away my children… You… you know that…"

Scar gave a humorless laugh. "You could easily defend them, though, couldn't you, O almighty Fire type?"

Esther tried to speak, but instead ended up coughing hoarsely. Her body trembled as she tried to move despite the paralysis. She did her best to keep herself at least slightly lifted off of the ground so she wouldn't crush her children.

"Hm, maybe you're not all that mighty after all…" The Scyther smirked, kicking at her side. The Charizard grunted in pain. "But mighty or not, you are still a danger to me and my brethren." The giant mantis frowned again, glaring at the dragon. Then, without saying another word, he sliced his claws at Esther. Blood spurted everywhere, and several cries were heard beneath the Charizard's body.

"Well, well, well…" Scar shoved the body to the side to find a large group of Charmanders hurdled up beneath. He stared at the hatchlings intently, then raised his claw. Eleven Scythers stepped out of the forest, staring at Scar's claw. "Get them," was all that Scar said. He dropped his claw.

Instantly, the entire herd engulfed the nest, attacking the little hatchlings. The smallest Charmander narrowly escaped one of the Scyther's claws, and started to scramble out of the nest. One Scyther seemed to come out of nowhere and kicked her across the nest. She flew through the air and slammed against the wall of the nest, shrieking as pain burst through her body. She then looked up to see Scar standing over her, blood covering his claws. Wordlessly he drew one of his claws back, the Charmander lying there helplessly. Like lightning the claw flew at her face and—

The nameless Charmander woke up with a shriek, bolting upright. Cold sweat poured off of her scales as she looked around frantically, but saw no Scyther. Instead, she saw a dense forest surrounding her with sunlight poking through the gaps in the trees. _What a nightmare…_ she thought. _All those bugs…_ She started to retrace the dream, the images still fresh in her mind, then suddenly stopped. _It was… it was that Mew… He saved my mother… but then the bugs came when he wasn't there and… N-not only my mother died, but… I…_

She held her head in her paws. _He said that it wasn't his Master's will to scare off the Scyther when my mother was in danger… Could that have been why…?_ She shook her head. _No, it can't have been… can it? _She thought about it for a while. _No… no. It was just a dream. Dreams don't mean anything._

The nameless Charmander winced as her stomach gave a loud growl. She had never had anything to eat, and wished that she knew the best way to look for food. With a whimper she arose, looking for a berry bush. The forest was mainly oak and maple trees, with no berry bushes in sight. She continued to search despite this, trotting around and around.

Everything was unfamiliar to her… She was a stranger to this new world, and without a guide, she was lost. The little lizard looked up to find giant trees looming over her. Even small boulders seemed to tower over her. Despite the sunlight creeping through the trees, everything looked frightening. Her pace started to quicken as she trotted through the woods. A Spearow suddenly swooped at a nearby Weedle, startling the hatchling. She burst into a dash, trying to find her way to safety. There was a flash as something bright appeared ahead of her, and she screeched to a halt, covering her head in her paws.

"You know, I could teach you to look for food if you would just trust me," said a familiar voice. The little Pokemon looked up to see Bartholomew's shining form scintillating above her. She stood back up on all fours, lashing her tail and baring her tiny fangs, trying to look as intimidating as possible.

"Go away, you!" she hissed. "I don't want to be around you… you murderer!" He had some nerve offering to help her after what he did…

"You know that that is not true, Charmander," Bartholomew stated. "You saw the dream. You saw what would have happened. You would have died. What I did saved you. I am no murderer." His voice was calm, as it always was… so strangely calm.

The Charmander trembled in anger, squinting her eyes shut. She didn't want to admit it… She couldn't admit it… He couldn't be right… He just _couldn't…_

"I can be right, Charmander, and I am," the Mew said firmly, his face darkening slightly.

The Charmander jumped in surprise. _What the-? Did he just read my…? No, he couldn't have… And he's still wrong… it was just a dream…_

"That was not 'just a dream'. That was a vision of what could have happened. You know that, so don't pretend that you do not." Bartholomew's face lightened, and he reached his paw out towards the lizard. "I can help you," he said, his voice sounding gentle. "I can protect you. I can teach you. Please, trust me…"

The Charmander took a few cautious steps back, eyeing the paw fearfully. _He says he can protect me… teach me… help me… I can't do that on my own… But how can I trust him? He can't be right about the dream; no one can read minds. He's just making up excuses… making up excuses for why he murdered my mother! _"_No!_" the Pokemon exclaimed suddenly, swiping her tiny claws at Bartholomew and backing away further. "No! You're wrong! Y-you have to be!" She glared at the Mew, lashing her tail behind her. Tears started to form in her eyes, but she swiped at them and spun around, darting away.

Instead of disappearing as he did the first time, however, Bartholomew flew after the Charmander, his face dark. "Stop running and refusing my words of truth and wisdom. You might not think that it is right, but it is. You must listen to me, you must trust me, or you will run into danger…"

"_No!_" she yelled as she ran, trying to outrun the Mew. "I can't… you're wrong… I can't listen to you… You'll trick me… you killed my mother… you… you'll try to kill me too…" But then again, what if he wasn't…? Still, she couldn't take any chances… he was wrong…

She expected Bartholomew to keep chasing her and yelling for her to trust him. But… he didn't. Instead, the Mew suddenly stopped, staring at her with an unreadable expression. "You will regret your decision, Charmander," he said quietly. "Heed my words, you will regret it…"

The words echoed in her mind as she ran away, but she couldn't listen to that murderer… she just couldn't… He had to be wrong… He _had_ to…

Her stomach growled in pain, her limbs ached, and her energy was nearly drained. The Charmander didn't know what was good to eat, and found herself eating unhealthy berries, sticks and leaves. She rarely, if ever, seemed to pick the right thing to eat.

She was constantly being shooed away whenever she found a comfortable place to sleep. Raticates chased her out of their nests, Bug Pokemon chased after her in attempts to shoo her out of the forest, and other stronger Pokemon continuously tormented her.

She spent most of the day searching for food or running from other Pokemon. Despite her weariness, she could hardly sleep. The forest was too frightening, and the only places she could find that weren't already inhabited by other Pokemon were almost always uncomfortable. She would have loved to escape the forest… but it seemed endless. She usually found herself running around in circles or wandering in to even more dangerous territory.

Every day, she was losing more and more energy. Slowly, she was dying.

_Everything hurts… _she thought to herself. _Bartholomew was right… I should have trusted him… I should have… No… no. He would have killed me, the murderer. Then again, dying doesn't seem so bad after all…_

Her tail flame gave off a very dim glow, showing that her life was almost up. However, even though that the light of her tail flame did not shine very brightly, it was still seen. A tiny brown Pokemon with two giant claws on its head crept out of its nest, cautiously approaching the Charmander. The little lizard noticed this, and backed away warily.

The little Pinsir, however, continued to stomp up to her, its eyes fixated on her tail flame. It slowly reached out its claw to touch the flame.

The nameless Charmander, in an attempt to protect her life-flame, lashed out with her claws at the little bug. It shrieked in pain and scampered back to its nest. The Charmander snorted in annoyance and curled up beside a tree, hoping that the bug would leave her alone this time.

She soon heard a deep, threatening growl behind her. Slowly she turned her head to see the mother Pinsir glaring down at her, clicking her jaws threateningly. Her child stood behind her, imitating its mother's angry look.

The little lizard stared up at the bug, eyes wide with fear. "I-I'm s-s-sorry…" she apologized, her voice shaking as much as her body.

"You attacked my son," the adult Pinsir snarled, clicking her jaws again.

"H-h-he w-was going t-to attack m-me…" the Charmander explained. "H-he was trying t-to get my t-t-tail flame…"

"Is this true?" The Pinsir looked at her son, who nodded. "No matter." She looked back at the Charmander. "It is meal time now. Perhaps we should try Fire Pokemon meat… I've heard it to be deliciously piquant." Had the Pinsir had the correct type of mouth, she would have been grinning.

With a loud whimper, the nameless lizard quickly stood up and started to scamper away. The giant stag beetle chased her, the sharp fangs in her diagonal mouth gnashing hungrily. The little lizard sobbed as she ran, not knowing what to do. She didn't know how to fight, she didn't know how to hide, she was losing energy fast…

But there was one thing she could do. She hated to do it. Her mind was telling her that she couldn't. _Do not call for him. He was wrong…_ But if he was wrong… why am I in so much pain? _He was wrong…_I have no other choice…

Squinting her large, sapphire eyes shut, she came to a halt, threw her head into the air, and cried out, "BARTHOLOMEW! HELP ME!"

A roar of lightning echoed throughout the sky. The Pinsir looked up, her claws clicking a few times in confusion. Her tiny eyes widened as she saw a bright figure approaching her quickly. Suddenly realizing what the figure was, she turned around and fled in fear.

Bartholomew stopped inches above the ground, and turned to look at the nameless

Charmander. He looked into her tear-stained, orange face; she looked into his shining, glowing-pink face.

There was a pause. There was the person who had practically killed her mother… yet he had saved her twice. She stood there for a moment, silent. The, suddenly, she ran up to him and threw herself at his feet, sobbing. "Please… help me… I'll do anything… I'll listen to you… I'll… I'll trust you… Just help me…"

The angelic Mew smiled. He unwrapped the set of wings that was curled around his body and wrapped them around the Charmander. "You have made a wise choice, Charmander… a very wise choice indeed."

At that moment, the Charmander was alleviated of her fatigue, hunger, pain, and sorrow. She looked up at the Mew from under the shadow of his wings. Tears of joy rolled down her face as she simply said, "Thank you."

------

No, that's not the end. There is still much more to come. Stay tuned!


	4. Adding the Fuel

Reply to reviews… mur-rur…

Kameko Nokori- Thanks. ; I'm always afraid that I'll overdo the religiousness, and then it'll just get annoying or awkward to read… And Scar is not in the Bible, of course. It's a nickname, anyway.

The Cougar- Thanks. Yeah, I was intending it to look like it was the same… I actually copy-pasted the first part, but then changed the ending to the scene and added another one for the dream.

Hm, only two reviews? What happened to the rest of you guys? Scared to tell me what you think? If you seriously think that reading the religious stuff seems annoying or awkward or anything, please tell me. oo; I need to know these things so I can improve my fics.

Anyway, that being said, here's the disclaimer…

Disclaimer- I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters in this fic, and they may not be used without permission!

ON WITH THE FIC!

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The nameless Charmander trotted through the forest, staying close under the shadow of Bartholomew's wings. If she were to step out from beneath them, all of her pain would return, so she kept as close to the Mew as possible. She had to wonder, though… why did Bartholomew let her go through all of that? "Bartholomew?" she questioned, looking up at the angel. "C-couldn't you have forced me to come to you before…?"

Bartholomew nodded. "Indeed, I could have. But I did not. The Creator has blessed you with a free will, so it would be wrong for me to force you to do something. You had to willingly come to me by yourself."

"…oh," came the Charmander's response. She wasn't exactly sure she understood, but she didn't push the question farther.

"I will not be with you all the time, so I must teach you to survive on your own," the Mew explained, changing the subject. "You must learn what is good for you to eat, where to sleep, and how to defend yourself." He led the Charmander to a relatively large clearing. "You will not like this, but I will have to take my wings off of you, now." With that, he pulled his wings away, wrapping them around himself once more.

The nameless Charmander stood there for a moment, swayed, and fell to her side.

"This is why you must learn what to eat," Bartholomew stated, lifting the little lizard up with his tail. "I will show you the various types of berries… here." Gliding gracefully over the ground, the Mew hovered over to the exact center of the clearing, reached his tail out, and tapped the ground. At first nothing happened, but eventually a small plant poked out of the ground, and started to grow larger, sprouting branches and leaves.

The Charmander watched in awe as a berry bush started to grow from the ground instantly. It grew larger and larger, growing various kinds of berries on it. Bartholomew reached down and carefully picked one of the berries off of the branch, curling his fingers around it and showing the paw to his "student".

"This is a Cheri berry," he explained, opening his paw. "It is very spicy, but helpful. If you are paralyzed from an attack or paralyzed from fear, eat this and you will be able to move again."

The Charmander took the berry, spinning it around by the stem as she examined it. After a while of this, she sniffed the berry and stuffed it into her mouth. Her eyes widened for a moment, and she coughed out a few embers. Bartholomew laughed at this.

"It is not very good for snacking on, though," the Mew chuckled. He then picked a larger blue berry. "This is a Chesto berry. If you are feeling tired, it will wake you up. But other than that I would not recommend eating it, as it is very hard and dry." He handed this berry to the Charmander, then picked a pink one. "This is a Pecha berry. You will like this one, as it is very sweet. It can also help you if you are ill from battle."

The Charmander smiled and took this berry, munching on it happily. She continued to listen as Bartholomew taught her about each different berry, glad that she had finally decided to trust the angelic Mew.

Suddenly, during mid-lesson on a Pinap berry, Bartholomew froze. He dropped the fruit and looked into the sky intensely. "My Master calls me," he told the young lizard. "I will be back soon, though. In the mean time I would like you to gather berries for a lunch based on what I told you. Farewell." With that, the angel flew off.

As soon as Bartholomew was gone, the multi-berry bush faded away. The Charmander shivered, getting to her feet. "So I have to get some berries myself?" she questioned to no one in particular. "All right… I hope you'll be back soon, Bartholomew." That being said, the little lizard started to trot out of the opening, sniffing around for berries. "Hm… I can't remember everything Bartholomew taught me… How'm I supposed to remember which berries are good to eat for a snack?"

The little lizard was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of a tree branch snapping. She jumped, spinning around to find something pouncing on her. Overtaken by fear, she let out the first word that came into her mind. "MUURRRR!"

"Wha?" the figure questioned, stopping just in front of the little Charmander. She looked up, wide-eyed, to find… another Charmander. "Huh, another Charmander… looks like a baby one," it said to itself. It looked at the lizard, crossing its arms. "Hey, baby Charmander, do you speak the same language as me? 'Cuz I've never heard of 'mur'…"

The young Charmander examined the other one. It stood about a foot taller than her and had a slightly shorter tail, which meant that it was a male. "Er… yeah," she said, swallowing nervously. "Y-you just kinda scared me for a moment, there…" She swished her tail, pawing at the ground.

"Oh, sorry," the male Charmander apologized, expression brightening. He gave a laugh. "For a second there I thought you were from some ancient Pokemon tribe! That would've been weird…" The way he talked confirmed to the female Charmander that he could have only been a few months older than her. "Anyway… the name's Matthew." He held out his paw. "What's your's?"

"Uh…" The female ducked her head slightly. She felt awkward not knowing the best way to answer a simple question like that. "I… don't have a name," the young lizard replied, looking away shyly.

Matthew gave her a skeptical look. "No name? Everyone has a name!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms out. "Geez, what kinda parents didn't give you a name?"

The Charmander was silent for a moment. She didn't want to make the other Pokemon feel awkward by saying that her parents were dead, and that was why she never had a name. "Well… they just… didn't name me."

Matthew sighed, swishing his tail. "Well then… might as well call you what I've been calling you… BabyCharmander," he said with a shrug.

"Baby…Charmander?" the lizard repeated, trying out the name. It certainly wasn't a normal name, but she, for some reason, liked it.

"Yep," Matthew said, smiling. "So anyway, what're you doin' way out here in the middle of the forest, BabyCharmander?" He took a few steps closer, crossing his arms over his chest again.

"Oh, my friend, Bartholomew, told me to collect some berries for lunch," BabyCharmander explained. She was feeling a bit more comfortable around the new Charmander now. "Though I don't really know where to get some."

"Ah… That'll take too long if you don't know where to look," Matthew stated with a nod. "I can find some for you. Stay here."

BabyCharmander nodded, and Matthew spun around and darted on all fours through the forest. After a short period of time he came back with a variety of sweet berries, including ones that BabyCharmander had never learned about. She tried them all, and found them to be very delicious.

Matthew waited for a while, his tail swishing back and forth impatiently. Finally, he sighed and asked, "Well, what do you say?"

Though she knew what he meant, the little Charmander smirked and replied, "Mur!"

The male Charmander laughed at this little inside joke. He paused for a moment. "I'll be right back, I need to get some berries for myself. It IS lunchtime, y'know…" With that, he darted back through the forest once more.

Soon after Matthew had left, Bartholomew appeared again. Seeing BabyCharmander eating from a large pile of berries, he smiled. "I see you found yourself a nice lunch like I asked," he observed. However, he frowned when he examined the pile. "I never told you about these berries…" he said, picking up a few of the berries from the pile. "Why did you pick these if you knew nothing about them?"

"Uh…" BabyCharmander swallowed nervously. She wasn't sure if she should tell Bartholomew about Matthew, or wait to tell him later. After thinking about this, she decided to lie. "I thought these berries looked good, so I decided to try them out…"

Bartholomew shook his head. "No, do not do things like that, Charmander. You could-"

BabyCharmander cut him off. "My name's BabyCharmander," she told him.

"BabyCharmander…?" Bartholomew questioned, eying her suspiciously. "Since when did you have a name?"

"I… uh… came up with one," she lied again.

"Such an… interesting name." Whether the angel saw through the lie or not was unknown to the Charmander. "As I was saying, you could have picked a poisonous berry and eaten it without knowing so. Therefore, I would like it if you not pick berries that you know nothing about."

"Sorry…" BabyCharmander apologized, wrapping her tail around her body and ducking her head down in a look of guilt.

"Do not do it again," Bartholomew said firmly. He touched the middle of the clearing with his tail once more, and the multi-berry bush appeared again. "Let us continue with our lesson…"

As the berry lesson went on, BabyCharmander spotted something moving nearby the clearing. As it got closer, she recognized it as her new friend, Matthew. But as Matthew got close enough so that he could see Bartholomew, he froze completely, and ran away. The young Charmander was about to say something to call the other lizard back, but quickly stopped herself, as she still was not sure about letting Bartholomew know about her new friend just yet.

The lesson went on throughout the day, and finally was finished soon after dark. BabyCharmander looked up at her "guardian angel" wearily, blinking her tired eyes. "Bartholomew, I'm really tired… but I don't know the best place to sleep…"

"I will teach you how to find a good, safe place to sleep tomorrow. For now, however, I will have to make this opening a good, safe place to sleep," Bartholomew explained. He touched the ground with his tail again, and instantly all the grass became very soft. "I will make sure no danger will enter here for tonight, but after tomorrow's lesson you must learn to find a place to sleep for yourself."

BabyCharmander nodded, and curled up under a tree on the edge of the clearing.

Bartholomew smiled, hovering up to the little lizard and wrapping his wing around her in a hug. "I must leave you now. I will be back tomorrow." With that, the angelic Mew flew away.

BabyCharmander watched her guardian angel fly away, her vision slowly growing darker. Eventually she found herself sound asleep. Before she could dream, however, a voice awoke her.

"Hey, BabyCharmander! BabyCharmander, wake up!"

The Charmander rubbed her large eyes, looking around. She spotted Matthew at the edge of the clearing, looking at her nervously. "Mur!" she exclaimed, continuing the inside joke. "What're you doing here?"

"Who _was_ that guy?" Matthew asked as he entered the clearing, glancing around nervously.

"Bartholomew? He's my friend that was teaching me about berries. He's really nice," BabyCharmander explained, smiling. "He wouldn't hurt you or anything."

"He seems really… creepy," Matthew stated, shivering. "He's not coming back here, is he?"

"He's coming back tomorrow…" BabyCharmander answered, giving her friend a funny look. She didn't understand why he was so afraid of the Mew…

"Well…" The male Charmander looked around the clearing. "I guess I'll have to leave before he gets here, then. Do you mind if I stay with you for tonight?"

"Sure, if you want," the female answered with a nod. "Bartholomew said that he'd make sure no danger will come here."

Matthew smiled, seeming relieved. "That's good," he said, curling up beneath the tree next to his friend's. He was silent for a while, but eventually spoke up again. "Hey BabyCharmander… you seem really young to be wandering around alone. Where're your parents?"

BabyCharmander didn't respond for a moment, wincing at the memory. Reluctantly, she began to speak. "My mom… is dead…"

The male Charmander jolted upright. "_Dead!_" he exclaimed, eyes widening. "What happened…?"

"A Scyther named Scar killed her…" BabyCharmander explained, starting to shiver. She didn't like talking about this…

"Why?" Matthew questioned, seeming very interested.

"I don't know why… I think it was because fire Pokemon are a threat to bug Pokemon or something…" A tear rolled down her cheek. "It's not fair…"

"That's probably not the only reason…" Matthew said, leaning his back against a tree. "Y'know, I've heard that there's this one family of Chars that pass down this weird trait in their family."

"What's that…?"

"It's called the Rage trait. It's where the Char can lose control of their body, and their good and bad side will start to fight. If the good side wins, they take on a Life form, and if the bad side wins, they take on a Death form," Matthew explained. He laughed shaking his head. "I know it's a crazy thought, but maybe _you_ have that trait."

"Me?" BabyCharmander exclaimed.

"Like I said, it's a crazy thought." The male shrugged, curling up under the tree again. "Anyway, it's getting late. We should be getting to sleep…"

"Yeah…" The young Charmander curled up again. "G'night, Matthew."

"G'night."

There was a silence, and BabyCharmander spoke up again. "Mur."

Matthew laughed. "Mur."


	5. Wind on the Flame

Next chapter, yay. Time to reply to the reviews.

…wait, there are no reviews. Oo; Dude, what happened? Did I do something wrong? D: If I did, please don't hesitate to tell me! If you think I wrote something wrong, made something seem awkward, or whatever, PLEASE TELL ME so I can fix it and improve my writing skills. oo;

Disclaimer- I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the characters of this fic… and such and such.

On with the fic!

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The voice spoke in high-pitched, shrieking tones, yet deep, moaning tones at the same time. The deeper voice spoke in another language, while the high-pitched one spoke in the universal Pokemon tongue. It chanted a haunting poem, that echoed in BabyCharmander's mind as she slept…

_Once a normal_

_Never again;_

_Possessed by the Dark One, _

_The Torturer of Men._

_Once a kind one, _

_Not anymore;_

_A servant of Evil,_

_The Villain of all lore._

_Once a hero,_

_Now not at all;_

_The greatest of power_

_He will finally call._

_Beware of the evil_

_That lurks in the day._

_Once he befriends you_

_Forever he will stay._

_Living cannot kill him,_

_Only dead will survive._

_Nothing can save you,_

_AND EVIL WILL THRIVE!_

BabyCharmander had no time to figure out what this meant, for she was awoken by an ear-splitting screech. She jerked her head upward, her heart pounding in her throat. _What was that? _she questioned in her mind as her eyes darted around the clearing. It was still night, and the clearing was empty aside from her and Matthew. Turning her head to look at her friend, the Charmander repeated the question to him.

Matthew was already wide awake, looking around warily. "I don't know… It… it sounded like a Zubat," he whispered, breathing heavily. He rose to his feet, looking fearfully back at BabyCharmander. "Whatever it is, I don't think it wants us here. Let's get out of here, hurry!"

BabyCharmander nodded, rising to her feet as well. But then she remembered… "Wait, Bartholomew said that no harm would come to us if we stayed in this clearing," she explained in a hushed voice.

"And you trust that guy?" Matthew asked incredulously. "Listen, I learned how to survive out here on my own. When somethin's chasing you, you _don't _stay out in the open. Who do you trust more, me, or some weird glow-y guy?" Another horrid screech filled the air. "C'mon, let's go!" With that, the male Charmander darted out of the clearing.

"No, wait, Matthew!" BabyCharmander called. The screech sounded again, louder this time. With an uneasy whimper, the female darted out of the clearing as well. She padded through the forest, looking around for her friend. "Matthew…?" she whispered. A light flickered behind a bush nearby. "Mur?"

"Mur," a whispering voice confirmed. "In here."

With a nod, the little lizard quickly crawled into the bush to find her friend hiding there. "Well, we're out of the clearing," BabyCharmander stated, looking over her shoulder briefly. "Do you think it'll leave us alone now?"

"I think so," Matthew responded, heaving a sigh. "That was close."

As soon as this was said, however, the screech sounded again—so loud, this time, that the Charmanders felt that their eardrums would burst. BabyCharmander, cried out, darting blindly out of the bush. A giant figure swooped down at her, just barely missing. She screamed, running back through the bush.

"Run, _run, **run**_!" she screamed at Matthew, blazing through the bush like a Rapidash. Her tail-flame caught some of the leaves on the bush, igniting them.

"Wait!" Matthew called, rushing out of the bush and darting after BabyCharmander. The fire behind them devoured the bush, and quickly began to lick at the nearby trees.

Again the figure swooped at BabyCharmander and Matthew. This time, its form was visible in the fire: It was a Zubat, only much, much bigger than one would normally be. Where its skin would normally be blue, it was stone-grey, and the insides of its wings were a deep scarlet. It screeched again, directly into the little lizard's faces.

Matthew managed to cover his ears, but BabyCharmander stumbled backwards, holding her head in agony. "Supersonic…!" Matthew gasped. He looked warily at the Zubat, which was dripping venom from its open mouth. He turned again to look at BabyCharmander, who was stumbling around and whimpering in confusion. The giant bat swooped at her, screeching loudly.

"Come _on!_" Matthew yelled, whipping his tail around BabyCharmander's arm. He dragged her out of the way, causing the giant, demonic-looking bat to slam into the ground next to them. "Hurry, before it gets up!"

"I can't walk, my head hurts…" BabyCharmander moaned, staggering. "What's going on…?"

The Zubat squirmed around in the dirt, flapping its wings in rage. "The confusion will wear off soon. Let's get out of here, _hurry!_" Matthew shouted, dragging BabyCharmander through the forest once more. Soon they were back in the clearing, where the male screeched to a halt.

A wall of fire stood before them imposingly, blocking their path.

The male Charmander looked back at the female. "We have to run through there. The Zubat won't be able to follow. It's our only chance!"

"What…?" BabyCharmander exclaimed.

The Zubat screeched again from behind them, and Matthew wordlessly jerked BabyCharmander forward, rushing through the flames. As soon as the female hit the flames, however, she cried out in pain, yanking her arm out of Matthew's grasp and backing away from the flame.

"Don't tell me the fire still hurts you!" Matthew cried out desperately. "Please, don't…!"

BabyCharmander didn't answer, but spun around and tried to rush back out the way she had come in. The fire was spreading faster, however, and her only chance of survival was shrinking quickly. Just before she made it through, however, the Zubat swooped between the two walls of flames. It was about to charge at the Charmander, but stopped, for as soon as it entered the clearing, a peculiar sound rang out through the air.

It sounded like the squawking of an angry bird and the hissing of a cat. Bartholomew appeared in a burst of feathers, all six of his wings beating quickly and angrily. His face was very, very dark as he glared at the Zubat, who would have glared back, had it had eyes.

Bartholomew flew up to the giant Pokemon until they were face-to-face. "Get out, _demon_, and leave this innocent Charmander alone." The Mew's words were dripping with venom.

"_Never_!" the demon replied. BabyCharmander was shocked to find that he spoke in two tongues—both of which she heard in her dream. "The Dark One requires her to do his bidding!"

"Tell the Dark One that he cannot have her," Bartholomew growled, his tail lashing behind him. "She is under my protection, and the Dark One cannot touch nor bring any harm to her while I am here." Bartholomew's eyes narrowed, not moving away from the bat.

"You cannot keep her for long, _angel." _The demon's mouth wasn't the only thing that was dripping with venom. "Soon she will be within the Dark One's grasp, you will see!" The demon let out another horrid screech before fluttering off over the wall of fire and into the night.

Bartholomew flapped all six of his wings forcefully, and the fire stopped. He then looked down at BabyCharmander, his expression softening about as much as a rock does in the rain. "What did I tell you?" he questioned, folding his top wings behind his head and wrapping his bottom wings around his body, yet still managing to look fearsome and threatening.

BabyCharmander whimpered, knowing that she was in trouble. "Th-that the c-clearing was s-safe?" she responded unsurely.

"Then why did you leave?" the angel demanded.

BabyCharmander shivered, backing up a few steps. "Y-you don't understand, th-the Zubat—"

"_Why did you leave_?" Bartholomew repeated. He wasn't looking for excuses.

BabyCharmander hung her head. She couldn't tell him about Matthew; that would make him even angrier. She remained silent, having no other answer.

Bartholomew heaved a sigh, his expression lightening. "You must always remember what I say," he said in more gentle tones. "I said I would not let harm come into this clearing, and I did not."

Despite these words, BabyCharmander was still very afraid. "What… what… what happened?" she asked, still shaking uncontrollably.

"That demon wanted to take you to his master so you would do whatever he wanted you to," the Mew explained, hovering lower until he was only a foot off the ground. "That will not happen unless you let it happen."

The Charmander nodded, and glanced around the opening. She suddenly remembered. "Matthew…" she breathed. She wondered if her friend was all right. "Mur…"

"Hm?" Bartholomew questioned, glancing at the Charmander with curiosity. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," BabyCharmander quickly lied, shaking her head. "Nothing…"

Bartholomew nodded. "It is still dark, BabyCharmander," he stated, gazing into the sky. "I will make sure nothing else comes. Go to sleep, and I will see you in the morning." With that, the angelic Mew spread his wings and flew away.

BabyCharmander waited until her guardian angel left before rising, and darting in the direction that Matthew had run off into. She ran on all fours to increase her speed, and finally found her friend lying under a bush, curled up in a defensive position.

"Matthew," she breathed, "Matthew, are you okay?" She started to shake her friend, hoping to wake him up. "Mur…"

"Baby… BabyCharmander?" Matthew gasped, slowly opening his eyes. He jolted upright, eyes wide. "What happened? Where's the Zubat?"

"Bartholomew chased it off. It's all right…" the female Charmander soothed. "And… it wasn't a normal Zubat. It was a demon…"

Matthew did not look pleased. He looked down, a look of regret evident on his face. "No… no… I should have fought off the demon…" he muttered. "I should have been able to protect you! I'm sorry I ran off… I wasn't prepared to fight…"

"Mur!" BabyCharmander exclaimed, trying to make him feel better. "I told you, it's all right! You shouldn't be so upset…"

The male Charmander was still not convinced, but he nodded nonetheless. "I'll be able to protect you next time. You won't need Bartholomew to do it anymore."

The little lizard tilted her head, giving Matthew a confused look. "Next time…?"

"Next time you're attacked," he replied calmly. "It's a dangerous forest, you know…"

"…oh." BabyCharmander nodded. "C'mon, let's go back to the clearing. You can sleep until morning when Bartholomew comes back."

Matthew shook his head. "No, I'd better not. I don't want that Bartholomew to see me. I still feel… uncomfortable around him." He shifted his feet around uneasily.

"Oh, okay." The Charmander seemed slightly disappointed that her friend didn't want to stay with her, though she couldn't blame him. Bartholomew would make one uneasy with his bright appearance. "Well… I guess I'll see you tomorrow night, then."

"See you."

Both of the Pokemon walked off, going their separate ways.

------

Bartholomew hovered by a tree, almost leaning his back against it. He was thinking deeply, BabyCharmander watching intently. They had just finished a lesson on finding a place to stay, yet it was still day.

"BabyCharmander, there is something that I must tell you," Bartholomew explained, looking back down at his student.

"What is it, Bartholomew?" the Charmander questioned, still giving the Mew her complete attention.

"You do recall what I told you on your hatch-day, do you not?" the angel returned, swishing his tail back and forth steadily. It seemed to be a habit with him.

BabyCharmander thought for a while, glancing off to the side. That seemed like such a long time ago… "About… about the Creator?" she answered, looking back at her "teacher".

"Yes," Bartholomew confirmed with a nod. "I told you about the Creator. I must continue my lesson that I was trying to teach you then."

The Charmander nodded, trying to push back any distractions in her mind while the Mew talked. This was hard to do, as she kept thinking about Matthew… About how he tried to protect her, about how he said he would fend off her attacker next time…

"The Creator has a will for everything," the angelic Pokemon started. "As I have stated before, it was in His will for your mother to die."

The lizard felt a pain in her heart at these words, like a sword stabbing. Her mother… she never knew her…

"However, you should not be upset. You know why your mother had to die. The Creator has a will for everything, but the reason why he does some things might not be apparent to us at the moment, or it might not be apparent until after our death."

BabyCharmander did know why her mother had to die, but that didn't alleviate the pain any more. _I wish I could have known my mother… I wish I could have spent at least a moment with her… I wish I could have heard her voice from outside that cramped eggshell… _

"…and the disciples did not understand this until much later after His death." Bartholomew paused. "Are you listening?"

BabyCharmander snapped back into attention. How long had she been day-dreaming? "Er, yeah. Sorry… Mur."

"Carrying on…" Bartholomew continued. "We might not always know what the Creator's will is, and there are some things that we might not always understand, but we will, eventually."

This reminded BabyCharmander of the poem she had heard in her sleep. What did it mean? _Once a normal, never again… _ Did that mean anything at all? Maybe the person being described was a normal person, like her… but then the person changed to be not-normal? _Possessed by the Dark One, the Torturer of Men._ She had heard Bartholomew talking about the "Dark One". He had never explained to her who that was… Her mind continued to wander far away from the clearing and through the dream she had last night, through the battle with the Zubat, and farther as Bartholomew's voice droned on.

"And that concludes the lesson." Bartholomew gave an amused smirk. "You are not with me, are you, BabyCharmander?"

"Mur!" BabyCharmander exclaimed, jerking up.

Bartholomew chuckled softly, shaking his head. "It amazes me how you can be physically in front of me, yet your mind wanders a thousand miles away for five hours."

"Mur…? Five _hours?_" the Charmander gasped. She suddenly noticed that it was very dark outside, and she was very tired. "…I really am sorry, Bartholomew! Honest! I was trying to pay attention but…"

"I understand, but next time it is extremely important that you pay attention to these lessons!" Bartholomew stated, his tone of voice very serious. "It is very late, and, you must find a place to stay like I taught you. Farewell; your lessons will continue tomorrow."

Bartholomew departed, leaving BabyCharmander alone once more. The clearing no longer had extremely soft grass, and it no longer felt safe. She was wide out in the open, and she had to find a place to stay where no one would attack her.

"Dark places do not always work, as nocturnal Pokemon can see in the dark…" she stated, remembering Bartholomew's words. She got down on all fours and trotted out of the clearing, repeating some of the things that Bartholomew taught her. "Find a place that is well hidden, that few others might notice. A hole in the ground slightly hidden by rocks or grass…" She shuffled through the grass, searching for a hole. It only took her a few minutes before she found a well-hidden cave, and she quickly crawled in.

"Be careful, as some creatures might have already taken the place you have chosen for their shelter," she muttered. "You are a fire element, and are therefore a light in the darkness…" She held her tail-flame in front of her, searching the cave. She found no one thus far. It was mostly empty, but she could make out a speck of light deeper into the cave. Curious, she started to move closer. As she neared the light, she identified it as the tail-flame of another Charmander.

"Matthew!" she gasped.

Matthew's back was turned. He was staring at something deeper into the cave, and if he heard BabyCharmander approaching, he didn't acknowledge it. The little lizard cautiously approached him, and tapped him on the back. He spun around, panting heavily, eyes wide. "Oh… It's just you…"

"What's wrong…?" BabyCharmander asked cautiously. "And what are you doing here?"

"This is my cave," Matthew explained. "I made a room for myself farther in. I was gonna go in, but then I heard footsteps behind me. I guess it was just you, though." He laughed. "So what are you doing here?"

The female Charmander smiled. "Mur! This place seemed pretty well-hidden, so I decided to stay here for the night."

The male nodded. "That's fine. I was gonna ask you to come over sometime, anyway. C'mon! I betcha' I can get to the end of the cave before you can!" With that, the lizard rushed off on all fours.

"I becha' I can!" BabyCharmander challenged, rushing after her friend.

The two Charmanders laughed as they ran through the cave, but soon their laughter died out. Matthew slowed to a cautious trot as the narrow cave opened up into a wider space. "Something doesn't seem right," he stated, holding his tail flame in front of him.

"What doesn't?" BabyCharmander questioned, looking around. Then she began to hear it… a slow, rumbling sound. The ground beneath her started to tremor, and grew in intensity.

Matthew jolted upright, eyes wide in panic. "_Run…!_" he breathed.

Instantly a huge earthquake roared within the depths of the cave. Something was moving rapidly towards the two Charmanders through the dirt and rock floor. They could see a large crack in the floor in the distance, and it was quickly nearing them. Finally the ground erupted, and a large Sandshrew burst out of the ground. Its rock-hard skin was a pewter grey, its eyes a fiery red. It stood on all fours, staring at the two lizards before emitting a loud, painful screech.

The screech echoed throughout the cave, growing fainter by the second. As soon as the sound completely drained away, the cave began to shake.

"I said RUN!" Matthew yelled again, standing his ground.

BabyCharmander didn't hesitate to obey this time, and whirled around, running back towards the cave entrance as the tunnel began to crumble and rocks started falling around her.

Instantly the poem she had heard in her sleep began to echo vividly in her mind. This time, both voices were high-pitched.

_Once a normal,_

_Never again…_

"It must be… it must be those demons!" she exclaimed as she dove out of the cave. "They're chanting that poem! But why…!"

She stopped once she was outside and turned around, waiting for Matthew to come out after her. A few moments passed, but any time now, he would crawl out of the cave. It dawned on BabyCharmander, then, that her friend was staying behind to fight off the demon, just like he had said he would before. Franticly she started to rush back into the cave, but stopped.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion as the ground before her started to crumble, then collapse. The tunnel had caved in.

"**_MATTHEW!_**" BabyCharmander screamed in horror. Nothing but a strong rock type could have survived that. She instantly broke into tears, sinking to the ground and sobbing. Her friend was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

The ground began to tremor again, however, and BabyCharmander lifted her tearstained face, expecting the demonic Sandshrew to emerge from the ground. But to both her delight and confusion, Matthew crawled out of the ground, covered in dirt.

The male Charmander stood on all fours, coughing and gasping for air when he could. BabyCharmander started to approach him, but Matthew whipped his tail sharply. "Don't!" he exclaimed. "Stay—stay back!"

The ground rumbled again, and this time the Sandshrew dove out, landing on all fours, snarling.

Matthew stood up before the Sandshrew, teeth bared and ready to bite, claws sharp and ready to slice. The Sandshrew seemed equally prepared, some of its own fangs protruding out of its mouth.

"No, Matthew!" BabyCharmander exclaimed. "Y-you can't fight a demon!"

Matthew ignored her and leapt forward, his tail lashing against the Sandshrew's face. The mouse screamed in pain, drawing its body up and wiping at its face with its paws. It then dove forward, attempting to crush the Charmander with its immense weight.

The lizard stretched out his claws, slicing at the mouse's rock-hard belly, but withdrew his hand and cried out in pain. The Sandshrew was too strong for him to attack… The rodent held its stomach painfully as blood began to pour from its wound.

The demon looked up, staring at Matthew with its burning eyes. It talked to him in a strange, hissing language identical to the voice that had spoken in BabyCharmander's mind. This was obviously something that the demon only wanted Matthew to hear, but how could he understand it?

The male Charmander just snarled, rearing his head back and launching it forward, a fireball flying out of his mouth. The Sandshrew hissed in pain, but quickly recovered, charging forward. Matthew leapt to the side, just barely dodging the demon.

"Matthew, run!" BabyCharmander called out fearfully.

"I can handle this!" Matthew shouted back. "Just wait…! I'll get 'im…" He lowered his head and charged forward, ramming into the Sandshrew's body in a Skull Bash attack.

The giant mouse, surprisingly flew forward, crashing into a large tree trunk. The tree groaned and started to tilt to the side. The demon lay below it, too dazed to get up.

"It's gonna fall!" Matthew yelled, rushing away. He quickly grabbed BabyCharmander's arm, pulling her away just as the tree fell forward. There was a loud, painful roar as the tree crushed the Sandshrew demon. Matthew smiled, looking proudly at his friend. "See? I told you I could defend you. You won't need that Mew to defend you anymore."

The younger Charmander stared in bewilderment, and said nothing for quite some time. She had _never_ expected a little Charmander like that to possess such great physical strength. Finally she smiled, though it was slightly forced. "Come on, Matthew. Let's find a place to sleep for the night. Mur."

Matthew grinned back. "Mur."


	6. Extinguishing the Fire

Next chapter… and stuff.

The Cougar- Thank you.

Disclaimer- …you know it already.

------

Matthew stared.

"…I know it sounds weird, but I keep hearing it run though my head," BabyCharmander explained to her friend, a worried look on her face. She had finally told him about the odd chanting sound that she was hearing in her head occasionally. Now, though, she wasn't sure she should have told him. Maybe he would think that she was insane or something… "…I… I don't know what it means… Do you?"

The lizard was silent. He looked into the night's sky, frowning. "…I know what it means," he finally replied. "Those demons that we met... they were chanting that in their minds. People nearby can hear that chant in their minds as well… You weren't alone; I could hear it as well."

BabyCharmander heaved a sigh of relief, glad that her friend didn't think her to be crazy. Her worried expression quickly returned, however. "But why were they chanting it?" she questioned. "What does it mean?"

"That chant is about their master… the one who they follow." Matthew was staring off into the distance as he drifted into deep thought. "There was once a normal person… he was very good, one of the greatest, kindest people you would ever meet. But he was tempted by a single sin: jealousy."

"Jealousy?" The female Charmander tilted her head to one side. "Why-"

Matthew didn't appear to be listening, and interrupted her. "He was jealous of those who had more power than him. Then someone came along and said that he would give the person this power… He made the horrid mistake of accepting this offer, and the power he was given turned him into a demon.

"The demon still wanted more power… and thus created other demons to help him seek out this power." Matthew shook his head, looking back at BabyCharmander and giving her a sorrowful look.

The female took a step back, suddenly realizing what her friend was implying. "But if they're coming to me… then does that mean…?" She already knew the answer to this question.

Matthew opened his mouth to answer, but stopped, eyes wide. He spun around, snarling. "Another demon's coming. Can you hear it?"

The female Charmander nodded. She could faintly hear the chanting in the back of her mind, and whimpered fearfully. Not another one…

"I must go. I'll fend off this demon, and I'll be back before sunrise, so don't worry," Matthew soothed. He smiled, patting his friend on the back.

"Mur…" BabyCharmander's tail drooped in sorrow. She feared that this demon might be stronger than the last… and that he might not make it this time. "Be careful."

"I will," the male Charmander returned. With that, the orange lizard ran off into the night.

------

He never returned. BabyCharmander had stayed up all night waiting for her friend to return, but he never did. Tears poured down her face as she feared the worst. She tried to wipe these tears away, for the sun was rising and Bartholomew was going to come soon, and he would ask her why she was crying. She couldn't let him know about Matthew… she couldn't.

Bartholomew appeared when the sun had fully risen as expected. He smiled down at his student, beating his two flight wings steadily. Thankfully, he didn't appear to notice BabyCharmander's tears.

"I have an important lesson for you today, BabyCharmander," Bartholomew explained. "But it is not one that I can teach through words alone."

"Mur…?" the Charmander questioned, wiping the last of the tears out of her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I must teach you how to fight. You must gain strength to be able to do what the Creator requires of you." The angelic Mew wrapped all three of his wings around his entire body and gently floated to the ground. His wings disappeared as he unwrapped them and instead of seeing a Mew, BabyCharmander saw a tiny purple rat: a Pokemon called a Rattata. His eyes were still a glowing blue, and there was still a warm smile on his face. "I will start you off with this simple forest Pokemon. Now, I command you to come forward and attack me with your claws."

"Attack you?" BabyCharmander exclaimed.

"Do not worry, I cannot feel any pain," Bartholomew stated, flicking his curled purple tail. "Just attack me, and we will begin a simulated battle."

BabyCharmander nodded hesitantly and walked towards Bartholomew, eyes closed, and sliced at him with her claws. When she opened her eyes, she found that the Rattata was completely unharmed, and seemed disappointed.

"I told you not to worry. Attack me as if I were attacking you!" With that, the pseudo-Rattata lunged forward, tiny fangs bared. This caused the lizard to jump in surprise and slash defensively at the rat. Three red marks tore across the Rattata's face. "Very good!" Bartholomew praised, landing gracefully back on the ground as though nothing had happened. "This is a Scratch attack that you are performing. Now, pretend that you are weak, and cannot battle well." The cuts on Bartholomew's face sealed as he walked over towards the Charmander menacingly. "I want you to growl at me as angrily as you can. I will simulate what a Rattata's response will be depending on how good you do."

BabyCharmander imagined that she had been badly wounded in battle, and watched wearily as the Rattata approached her. She wouldn't want to fight that in her condition, so she bared her teeth and growled quietly.

The Rattata, however, continued to stalk closer to her. "Not like that! You are far too quiet!" Bartholomew criticized. "Growl louder and more angrily! Show your fangs!"

BabyCharmander took a few steps back from the purple rat, but glared at it. She bared her fangs and snarled loudly at the Rattata, trying her hardest to look and sound frightening.

The Rattata shrieked, darting into the bushes. Bartholomew emerged again, this time as a Raticate. "That was very good, but now we must move on to much harder battles to increase your fighting skills and strength…."

BabyCharmander gulped. This was going to be a long day…

------

The training was over, and BC was laying on the ground, panting in absolute exhaustion. She had learned many techniques that day and become stronger through battle, but this left her with an exhausting soreness.

It was dark now, and normally Bartholomew would have left her around this time. Instead, however, he sat on a nearby tree branch, gazing up into the night's sky. He said nothing, however.

BabyCharmander assumed that he had other things to do that did not involve her, and dropped down on all fours, slowly trotting out of the clearing. She needed to find Matthew to see if he was still alive…

"BabyCharmander," Bartholomew said, just before the lizard had left the clearing. She paused, looking over her shoulder. "I have something of great importance that I must tell you."

The Charmander noted the seriousness in her mentor's tone of voice, slowly trotted back into the clearing, and sat in front of the Mew. "What is it, Bartholomew?" she questioned, looking up at him wearily.

"I want you to listen as closely as possible. There are two strange forces within you, and when they start to act up and you act wrongly, then you could cause great damage."

BabyCharmander gulped, sitting up straight and giving the Mew her full attention.

"When the time is right, these two forces will awaken, and start to argue. When they do this, you will transform into another creature… RageBabyCharmander. The two forces will have most control over you when you become this creature. You will still have some control, however. If you succeed in fighting off the evil force, you will change form once more. You will become LifeBabyCharmander. However, if you let the evil in you win... you will become DeathBabyCharmander."

The little Charmander's jaw dropped in disbelief. _Didn't Matthew tell me this before…? He must have known somehow… but I can't let Bartholomew know that I already know…_

"Listen to me." Bartholomew's face darkened as he looked down at his student. "Whatever you do, do not give in to the evil side. Do you understand me?" the Mew demanded.

"Yes..." BabyCharmander answered, nodding slowly and looking down, a somewhat guilty expression on her face. "But what happens if I become LifeBabyCharmander?"

"You will be in a temporary state of sinlessness, and will be able to conquer any evil… if your transformation is complete," Bartholomew returned, smiling.

The Charmander nodded again in understanding. "And if I become DeathBabyCharmander?"

Bartholomew's expression became unreadable. "...words cannot describe the terrors you would wreak."

"…so that's what he wants…" BabyCharmander breathed, wincing. "He wants my power…" She shivered uneasily.

"Who does?" Bartholomew asked, eyeing the Charmander suspiciously.

The little lizard covered her mouth, gulping. "N-nothing, Bartholomew."

The Mew's face darkened. "You are hiding something, and I want to know what."

BabyCharmander sighed. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide it for forever. "…I have this… friend. His name's Matthew and he's a Charmander like me. He's been fighting off these demons that come to attack me and such… And he said that they're after a power within me to give to their master. But he says that he'll keep fighting these demons off so you won't have to and-"

"_What?_" In a moment, Bartholomew was directly in BabyCharmander's face, eyes narrowed and all six of his wings beating angrily. "He will defend you so that _I_ do not have to!"

BabyCharmander whimpered fearfully, curling up and hiding her face. She was in for it now… "I-it'll s-save you some work, w-won't it?" she stammered.

"BabyCharmander, do you not understand the danger you have put yourself in, trusting your life to a stranger!" the angel shouted, face growing darker.

The Charmander started to become angry. "He's not a stranger!" she exclaimed, looking up at the Mew. "He's my friend, and he's strong enough to fight demons and even kill them!"

This didn't make Bartholomew any happier. In fact, it made him angrier. "You are being _foolish_, Charmander! Few mortals can fight demons, let alone kill them! Do you know what this means?"

BabyCharmander shook her head, tears running down her face. She didn't know what Bartholomew was getting at. How could all of those things that Matthew did possibly be evil…?

Bartholomew backed away, looking down at the Charmander. "It means that your friend," he stated, "is nothing but a demon himself."

The little Charmander opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She could not think of anything to say in response to that as the words sunk in. _Matthew was a demon._

"N-n-no…" she whimpered, trembling visibly, eyes wide. It wasn't true, it wasn't _true! _"_No_!"

"You must listen to me, BabyCharmander!" Bartholomew shouted, face lightening slightly. "You can not go back to your friend! I am not saying this to be mean to you; I am saying this to _protect_ you! I do not want you hurt!" The Mew reached his paws down towards the Charmander. "I cannot let you go back to him… I will keep you here if I must."

BabyCharmander suddenly lashed at the Mew with her claws, snarling dangerously. "**_No!_** _You can't! He's not a demon!_" BabyCharmander screamed, charging on all fours past Bartholomew. "Murrr… **_MATTHEW!_**"

"_BabyCharmander!_" Bartholomew shouted. He did not chase her, however, and just hovered there, watching, and simply muttered to himself, "If she will not believe me, then she must find out for herself that she is the incorrect one."

------

"_Matthew!_" BabyCharmander screamed again, charging aimlessly through the forest. She skidded to a halt upon seeing a familiar figure sitting not too far away. "Matthew…?" she questioned, approaching her friend. Like the last time she had seen him, he had his back towards her. "Matthew, Bartholomew said that you were a demon! I don't believe him… You're not a demon!" she exclaimed.

Matthew neither responded to the question, nor did he acknowledge her presence.

"Are you…?"

There was still no response. The little Charmander could faintly hear the chanting of a familiar, haunting poem in the back of her mind. "Matthew, there's a demon nearby! We have to do something!" She reached out to touch his shoulder.

As soon as her paw made contact with his back, he whipped around in lightning speed, swiping his claw across her face. The claw dug deep under her scales just beneath her left eye, creating a deep cut.

BabyCharmander fell backwards in shock, hardly noticing the hot blood that poured from her newly opened wound. She couldn't believe it. Had he just _attacked_ her? No, he couldn't have! He just _couldn't _have! Something was wrong with him… She stared at him for some time before realizing what was wrong: his eyes.

The white and blue part of his eyes had turned a deep, bloody crimson.

"N-n-no…" the little Charmander breathed. She backed away on all fours as the poem grew louder… and Matthew started chanting along with it.

"Once a normal…" Matthew chanted as he approached BabyCharmander. "Never again… Possessed by the Dark One, the Torturer of Men…" His scales began to grow dark as he continued to walk towards the lizard.

"Once a kind one, not anymore; a servant of Evil, the Villain of all lore…" His yellow scales started to turn orange, then red as he got closer.

"Once a hero, now not at all; the greatest of power he will finally call…" His top scales began to turn a dark, pewter grey, then became black.

"Beware of the evil that lurks in the day… Once he befriends you, forever he will stay…" His claws began to grow longer, sharper, and more defined.

"Living cannot kill him, only dead will survive… Nothing can save you…" His fangs grew longer and started to protrude out of his mouth.

"**_AND EVIL WILL THRIVE!_**" he screamed, finally stopping.

BabyCharmander curled up defensively, looking at what was once her friend with wide, fearful eyes. "M-m-Matthew?"

"No, not Matthew." He grinned wider, showing off his more powerful fangs. "That was my name… long ago… But now… now, you can call me PsyChar." He chuckled quietly. "Should've trusted that guardian angel of yours…"

PsyChar held up his right claw, and a black energy began to take form. "But I really should thank you for being so foolish…" He gave an amused look, and, just before tossing the ball of energy, said a final, mocking word.

"Mur."


	7. Spreading the Flame

…and the next chapter, yay. Just a warning, though, this chapter has censored swearing in it, and the religious themes start to pick up again from this point on. Here's the reply to the… review.

The Cougar: Thank you.

Please, please, _please_ review this story. I'm not begging for attention; I'm begging for CONCRIT. If you find something wrong, TELL ME, PLEASE. I want to improve my writing skills. If you think I worded something awkwardly, if I made a grammar error, if you didn't like how something happened in the story, please tell me! I want to know so I can improve the way I write! Please tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, _please!_

And I'm gonna stop typing in the disclaimer 'cuz it's just annoying and you folks already know that I don't own Pokemon. /

------

BabyCharmander lay on the ground in total shock at what had just happened. _He betrayed me…He was my best… no, my ONLY friend, and he betrayed me… He was a monster… No, not a monster… a DEMON!_

BabyCharmander snapped back into reality and saw PsyChar throw the ball of energy at her. She rolled out of the way just in time, and shrieked as the ball smacked against the ground, leaving a large, smoking crater.

PsyChar gave a disappointed frown. "What, you don't want to be hurt, b? Then give me that power that you have!"

"I-I dunno how to!" BabyCharmander exclaimed, voice high-pitched in fear. "And… and even if I did, I-I wouldn't give it to you!" She stood up, puffing up her chest and trying to appear brave. If she showed him that she wasn't afraid to fight back, perhaps he wouldn't hurt her…

PsyChar growled in annoyance, balling his paws into fists. "Stupid girl… I'll have to drain it from you, then." The demon stepped forward, reaching his claws out over BabyCharmander's head. The Charmander started to back away, looking into her ex-friend's face. Upon doing this, however, she found her eyes staring into his. Instantly she found herself relaxed as she stared into his hypnotic gaze. She could stand there forever, just looking into his eyes…

The demonic Pokemon laughed quietly, making slow movements with his claws in the air. A black energy began to pour from BabyCharmander's scales and into PsyChar's paws. He smiled, closing his eyes as he absorbed the dark power. A moment later, he was struck hard in the chest and sent flying backwards, roaring, and BabyCharmander quickly snapped out of her trance.

Bartholomew stood in front of BabyCharmander in a defensive stance. He was on the ground for once, one foot in front of him, and all of his wings stretched out behind him. His paws seemed about ready to strangle the demon, and his eyes were narrowed in anger. "Stay back, _demon_," the angel hissed. "You can not have her."

BabyCharmander snapped out of the trance, and started to back away, eventually taking shelter behind a tree trunk. She wanted to get as far away from PsyChar as possible, but she also wanted to know what Bartholomew would do with the demon.

PsyChar smirked. "Too late… I have already stolen some of her power." He glanced at his tail flame, which turned black. He gave the Mew a mocking glance. "Now, _you_ stay back, _angel_,"—he said this word with as much venom as Bartholomew had in his voice when he called the Charmander a demon—"before I tear those pretty silver robes of you and slice through your frail, weak little body!"

"I think not!" Bartholomew shouted, flapping his wings and lashing his tail about angrily.

PsyChar's mouth curled into a snarl as he glared at Bartholomew, getting down on all fours and pouncing at the angel, hissing loudly.

Bartholomew was ready for this, and swung one of his largest wings forward, punching PsyChar in the chest and sending him flying backwards.

The demon screeched in anger, rearing his head back and spitting out a long stream of black fire. The Mew countered by surrounding himself with a pink barrier—an attack he knew as a mortal. The black fire eventually resided, and the Mew released the barrier.

PsyChar snarled again, charging forward in an attempt to ram Bartholomew head-on. The Mew, however, began to glow with a holy light. He glowed brighter and brighter until he was nearly blinding to look at. PsyChar screeched to a halt, eyes wide in fear. The Charmander being a demon, he couldn't stand to look at holy light. He soon realized that Bartholomew was too strong for him to attack at the moment, so he turned tail and fled.

As he ran, however, he looked over his shoulder. "Mark my words, Bartholomew, I'll come back and kick your #$ing angelic a, and BabyCharmander's power will be fully mine!" PsyChar roared back at the two as he fled.

"…why didn't you kill him?" BabyCharmander questioned, cautiously stepping out from behind the tree and looking up at her guardian angel.

"I was not instructed to," Bartholomew explained. He turned around, giving the Charmander an angry look. "I told you to stay away from him. Did you see what just happened? Do you trust me now?"

"Y-yes…" BabyCharmander whimpered, tears rolling down her face. She felt a stinging in the cut under her left eye, and started to wipe the blood and tears away. "C-can you h-heal this?"

"I can, but I will not," the Mew stated, swishing his tail. "Let it be a reminder to you of who you should put your faith in."

The little lizard turned her head away in shame, sniffling. "I'm sorry…"

Bartholomew's face lightened. "It is past now. Do not reflect on your past and be sad, but learn from the mistakes you made instead." The Mew landed on the ground, shadowing BabyCharmander with one of his wings. "PsyChar is not our concern now, anyway."

"He's not…?" the Charmander questioned, giving the angel a puzzled look. "But he said he'd come back and-"

"I know," Bartholomew interrupted. "But he will not come back for some time. PsyChar knows that I am stronger than he, so he will wait until he is stronger before confronting you or me again. For now, you have something else that you must worry about…" He raised his tail up, and gently began to twirl it around in a large circle. A glowing image appeared, showing a large Scyther with a scar across one of his eyes.

"Is that Scar?" BabyCharmander questioned, wiping the last of the tears away from her face and gazing into the image.

"Indeed, it is Scar. He is the one who killed your mother," Bartholomew explained as he looked at the image. "It is the Creator's will for you at the moment to set this Scyther on the right path."

"Set him on the right path? What do you mean by that…?" The little lizard tilted her head to the side in confusion. Was the Scyther lost in the forest? If so, why would the Creator ask her to find him? He was mean to her…

Bartholomew waved his tail, and the image disappeared. He sat down, looking at into his student's face. "BabyCharmander… do you recall what I told you about being a fire element when I was teaching you about where to sleep and where to hide?"

BabyCharmander placed her paw on her chin as she thought for a moment. She nodded, and gave a direct quote. "You are a fire element, and are therefore a light in the darkness."

"Correct," Bartholomew approved. He looked off into the sky. "And you are still to be a light in the darkness… even now."

"Huh?" BabyCharmander looked up into the sky, blinking in confusion. Bartholomew seemed to be making less sense by the minute. "But it's not _too_ dark out yet… I can see just fine."

Bartholomew sighed, shaking his head. "No. I am not speaking of that kind of darkness," the angelic Pokemon corrected. "I am speaking of a spiritual darkness."

"Spiritual darkness?" The poor little Pokemon was getting more confused by the minute. "I… I don't understand, mur."

Bartholomew looked back at his student. "Do you recall when we would sometimes take a break in our lessons and I would tell you stories about the Creator?"

BabyCharmander gave a slightly embarrassed look. "Mur… sort of." She fell asleep during those lessons often… now she wished that she hadn't.

The Charmander's guardian angel laughed. "Well, I want you to remember it. I know I spoke for quite some time during those lessons and you might have forgotten some things, but it is all still in your head. You will remember it when the time comes."

_Why isn't he being clear? _BabyCharmander exclaimed in her mind. "When the time comes for what?" she questioned, seeming annoyed.

Bartholomew laughed again. "You ask many questions, young one." He looked back into the sky again. "This is a spiritually dark world. You are to be a light within it. It is the Creator's will that you spread your light throughout this world by passing on what you have learned about the Creator to others. The first person you must spread it to is Scar."

The little lizard frowned. She wasn't sure if she could do this… "Mur… of all the people I could pass it on to, why do I have to share stuff about the Creator to Scar first?" she inquired, crossing her arms.

The angel's face darkened as he turned to look at the Charmander again. He moved his tail in a circle again, creating images of BabyCharmander's dead mother and siblings. The images changed to show other dead fire Pokemon. "Because he has been and still is killing various Fire Pokemon. And if he is not stopped, he will go on killing them. You must confront him and set him on the right path."

"When am I supposed to do this…?" the Charmander questioned, seeming nervous. "It sounds like I'll need some preparation or something…"

"You will not need any. Even if you did, there would be no time for any," Bartholomew explained, swiping his tail through the image and causing it to disappear. "You are doing this tomorrow."

"_What…?_" BabyCharmander exclaimed. "But… how'm I supposed to do that? I don't even know why he's killing everyone! And what if he kills _me_ before I can set him straight!"

"He will not, Charmander… Rest assured that he will not. I will be with you, so do not worry. And you will know his reason for his killings in time… just trust me," Bartholomew stated. "I will meet you in the morning. For now, you must sleep."

Before BabyCharmander could say or ask anything else, the Mew faded away. She sighed, curling up. "Why do I have to live such a complicated life…?"

------

Morning came all too soon. BabyCharmander awoke, sick with nervousness and anticipation. She really did not want to find some killer Scyther and try to set him straight. In fact, now that she thought about it, the whole idea seemed absurd.

_How'll a few words from me have any effect on a Scyther who's been killing Fire Pokemon for who knows how long? Why should he trust what I say? _she thought to herself.

"Because I will be with you," Bartholomew answered. BabyCharmander spun around, gasping audibly.

"Don't _do _that!" she exclaimed, relaxing upon seeing that it was just her guardian angel.

Bartholomew chuckled. "I am quite sorry," he apologized. The angel drifted down to BabyCharmander, wrapping one of his wings around her as a "hug". "I know you are nervous about what will take place today, but do not worry. I will be with you, and I will make sure that no great harm comes upon you. I will also make sure that you have the right words to say when needed. So now, if you are ready, we must be off."

The Charmander took a deep breath. "The sooner the better, I suppose," she sighed. She could see no way out of this, so she might as well do it and get it over with…

"Good," the angel replied, smiling warmly. He hovered over the little lizard and disappeared. He was still with the Charmander, just invisible. "Let us be off now; I am right above you."

BabyCharmander gave a reluctant nod, rose to her feet, stretched, and began to walk into the deeper, darker parts of Viridian Forest. She whimpered slightly as her eyes darted around the trees and paths as she looked for Scar. _How will I find him? I don't know where he lives, Bartholomew…_

_Do not worry, you will find him eventually, _the Mew answered in her mind. _Just keep looking._

The Fire Pokemon obeyed, continuing her search. She froze upon hearing a flapping noise and glanced up nervously at a tree above her. She relaxed, however, when she saw that it was just a Butterfree that was perching on a tree branch.

"H-hello…" she greeted, waving a paw nervously.

The Butterfree gave BabyCharmander a slightly annoyed look. "Fwee… What do you want?" it asked in its high-pitched voice.

"I-I'm looking for s-s-someone named S-Scar," the Charmander explained. She gave an embarrassed smile. "Do…do you know where he is, mur?"

The Butterfree seemed surprised. "Scar? You're looking for _Scar_?" it said incredulously. "He'll kill you!"

_How encouraging, _the Charmander muttered in her mind. She could hear Bartholomew's faint chuckle. "Just… just tell me where he is."

"Freeee…" the butterfly squeaked. "Fine, I'll lead you to him. But if you get hurt, don't blame me, okay?"

BabyCharmander gulped, nodding slowly. The Butterfree flew off of the tree branch, flying through a path of trees. The Charmander reluctantly followed, tail swinging back and forth in anticipation.

_Bartholomew, why won't you take my fear and nervousness away?_ BabyCharmander questioned, looking over her shoulder.

_Because you need to learn to do this sort of thing without my help. I cannot always remain your walking stick, BabyCharmander._

"Mur…" she whimpered. It seemed like hours as she followed the Butterfree, while in reality it was only a single hour. The Charmander's feet ached by the time they reached their destination. The Butterfree flew into a clearing, gave BabyCharmander a signal to stay where she was, and flew forward. It fluttered away for a moment before fluttering back, seeming slightly nervous.

"He's coming. I must go, now…" With that, the butterfly zoomed off.

BabyCharmander trembled visibly not from fear, but from anticipation of what was going to happen. She watched as a large figure appeared at the other side of the wide clearing. It slowly got closer and closer, closer and closer…

And quite suddenly darted forward as a green blur and appeared right in front of BabyCharmander's face.

"MUR!" she yelled, falling backwards in surprise.

"What do you want?" the Scyther growled, narrowing both of his eyes, though only his left one –the one that he could still see out of –glared at the little lizard before him. "What's this? A _Charmander?_ What are you doing here?" he roared, stomping his foot. "You know very well that Fire elementals have no place in this forest!"

"I-I'm s-s-sorry…" BabyCharmander stuttered, rising to her feet. "I-I wanted t-to t-t-talk to you ab-b-bout something…"

"Oh? And what would that be?" Scar snarled, raising one of his scythes.

The Charmander took a deep breath, trying her hardest not to stutter. "Wh… what you've been doing is wrong," she stated, looking up directly into the bug's face. She tried to look as serious as possible.

"What I've been doing is… _what?_" The Scyther was shocked to hear such bold words from this little Charmander.

"You… you killed many Fire Pokemon…" BabyCharmander explained, gulping. "You killed them all… And you killed my mother!"

Scar smiled, giving BabyCharmander a mocking glance. "Oh, I know you… You're that Charmander that I never finished killing." He gave a laugh. "Do you want me to finish my job?"

"N-no…!" the little lizard whimpered, voice sounding a bit more high-pitched. She cleared her throat, continuing. "What… what you're doing is wrong!" she exclaimed, suddenly seeming angry.

_Keep your anger down, BabyCharmander, keep it down…_ Bartholomew advised.

"Those're some pretty bold words coming from a little baby like you," Scar commented, nudging BabyCharmander in the side with one of his claws. His smile widened when he saw tears that began to flow down the Charmander's face. "Aw, is the little baby gonna' cry? Did I hurt your feelings?"

"Are you listening to me?" the Charmander snarled, tears still flowing. "You killed my mother! Don't you see what's wrong about that!"

"Oh, I see what's wrong about it, all right," the Scyther spat, giving the Pokemon an annoyed look. "I didn't kill you, too; that's what's wrong."

BabyCharmander was now trembling in anger. She couldn't believe how lightly this Scyther was talking about murdering! Did he thing this was all some kind of joke? That killing was just something one does for entertainment?

_You have to bury your anger or you cannot do this, BabyCharmander!_

"You nearly ruined my life, don't you see that!" BabyCharmander yelled. She began to approach the Scyther again. "You killed my mother, _slaughtered_ my brothers and sisters, and now you're saying that the only thing you did wrong was not killing me…?"

"I take it back," Scar said, holding up his claws in defense. "Not killing you wasn't my mistake. My mistake was that I didn't rip your vocal chords out when I had the chance!"

BabyCharmander screamed out in rage, blasting towards Scar and preparing to attack him with all of her might. Before she came within a foot of the praying mantis, he smacked her with the flat side of his claw, sending her skidding across the clearing.

"You're no match for me…" he growled, voice deep and threatening.

_You see? Anger is not helping you. Bury your anger and do what you are told._

The little lizard looked up at the bug wearily. She gave him a sorrowful look before speaking again. "Why… why are you killing all of these Fire Pokemon?"

"I'll tell you why," Scar hissed. "It's because you're harming the forest! You easily kill my fellow Bug Pokemon, you burn down trees whether on purpose or on accident…" He motioned his claw to his left. "Back there, some stupid Fire types burnt down a whole section of trees. They destroyed the home of a Dustox family I know. Do you Fire types think that you can get away with such crimes and not be punished?"

_What do I do?_ BabyCharmander questioned frantically in her mind. _I can't argue with that!_

_Look at his eyes…_ Bartholomew stated. _He's lying. Look at his eyes…_

The Fire Pokemon did so, looking at Scar's large, angry eyes. She looked closer, straining to see what Bartholomew was talking about. Then she saw it. She could see by the very subtle look on the bug's face and by the emotion that was being portrayed in his eyes….

"That's not true," she said.

"What? What do you mean it's not true?"

"You're lying. That's not why you're killing us." BabyCharmander got up with a little help from Bartholomew, and strode over to the Scyther calmly. "You're afraid."

"I am not!" Scar yelled angrily, swiping one of his claws at the Charmander. She could see him take a subtle step backwards, however. Yes, he was afraid…

"Yes, you are. Bug Pokemon are weak against Fire Pokemon, and you're afraid that one might best you in battle, or even kill you…" she stated, taking a few steps closer.

"That's not true! Shut the h up!" the Scyther cursed.

BabyCharmander smiled, closing her eyes and concentrating. She had learned this attack the other day during training… she would have to use it now. A warm sensation grew in her throat, and began to grow hotter and hotter. She opened her mouth and instantly a stream of fire poured out right towards Scar.

The Scyther screeched in fear, taking many steps back.

"See? You're afraid of me." The lizard smirked confidently. _How'm I doing, Bartholomew?_

_Excellent. Keep on going._

Scar could no longer hide it. He hid behind a tree, crying out, "I admit it! You and your kind do scare me!" He slipped down to his knees, watching the Charmander fearfully.

BabyCharmander walked closer to the Scyther, frowning. "Why do you fear us so much, mur?" she questioned, crossing her arms.

The Scyther looked away, a serious look on his face. "When I was little, I fought in a practice match against a Quilava friend of mine. He did a Fire Punch attack, right into my right eye." He covered his right eye with one claw, as though he remembered the pain. "I was blinded… I could never forgive him… Ever since then I resented Fire Pokemon… I didn't want anything like that to happen again…"

BabyCharmander now felt pity towards Scar rather than anger. She got down on all fours, slowly trotting towards the Scyther. She was silent, but with great reluctance spoke up again. "I… forgive you."

"_What…?_" Scar questioned, uncovering his eye.

"I forgive you of what you did to my mother and family," she finally said. "What you did was wrong, but I can't go through my life without forgiving someone."

"How can you do that?" The Scyther questioned, standing up. "How can you forgive someone just… just like that?" He was amazed. He had expected the Charmander to use that Flamethrower attack on him again out of anger.

BabyCharmander gave a sort of gentle, almost wise smile. "Because the Creator forgave me."

------

Bartholomew watched from a distance, smiling as his student taught Scar what he had taught her. It was almost funny watching a giant Scyther stoop down to listen to a tiny little Charmander. His smile widened when he saw BabyCharmander wave goodbye to Scar and approached the Mew.

"That… was easier than I thought!" BabyCharmander exclaimed, face bright.

"You see? I told you that you had it all saved in your head," Bartholomew said, patting his student on the head.

The Charmander gave a quizzical smile, asking jokingly, "Well, who's the Creator want me to talk to next? A giant rabid Ryhorn?"

The angel laughed. "No, no," he replied. He glanced into the sky, seeming distant. "…The Creator's will is not clear at the moment, but it will become clear… in time."

------

Author's note: If you've read the original version of ALitD, you'll notice something that I left out. In the original version, there was a scene where BabyCharmander actually got saved. This made a few people (including myself) feel a little bit odd, reading about an _animal_ (though with human personality and intelligence) convert to Christianity, so I left that scene out in this version. It is implied, of course, though. :P Anyway, that's the end of this chapter. G'night.


	8. Ember

"Doctor, are you sure it will be all right? We're pushing this one a little bit far…"

"Yes, it will be all right. If it dies, we'll get another one."

"Look, it's moving!"

_Oh… What… what's going on? What is this place? Where am I?_

"Dit… it woke up too early. No matter… Hold it down while I inject it."

"Yes, sir."

_Ugh… I feel so sore… _Ow!_ Hey, why're those guys grabbing me! _Ow! Ow, ow, ow!_ It hurts!_

"I SAID HOLD IT STILL, DIT!"

Ow_… ow… oh, I don't feel so good… It hurts so much! I want out of here! I want out!_

_Stay calm, you will be fine soon._

_Wha-? Who are you?_

_Just stay calm…Everything will be okay. _

_But…_

_Stay calm… stay calm… stay calm…_

"...Sir?"

"What the h? How did it fall asleep under this condition? …no matter, we can finally finish our experiment…"

------

A tiny, baby Squirtle lay in a cold, iron cage. She shivered, opening her crystal blue eyes. _Owwie… It hurt so much… Why I feel diff'rent? _she thought to herself. She looked at her reflection on the floor of her cage. _I look dat? I feel diff'rent in eggie…_

_You were different. Very different._

_Hey! Who're you?_

_That is of no importance at the moment. For now, I want you to try to escape. If the scientists continue their experimentation on you, you will die._

_Die...? Wuzzat mean?_

_It is something very bad that you should not experience at this age._

…_huh?_

_Just listen to me. These men are going to do very bad things to you that will make you hurt more._

_I dun wanna hurt more!_

_Then follow my instructions. Get away from the men as soon as they open the door to your cage. _

'_Kay._

The Squirtle sat there in confusion, wondering who the voice was. She didn't know why, but she trusted him. She turned her head upon hearing a large metal door creak. Two men dressed in white lab robes and thick glasses entered the room and walked towards the Squirtle's cage. _Hey… r' these the guys gonna hurt me?_

"Ah, it's awake. Get it out of the cage and we'll continue our experimentation," the first scientist said, nodding to the second.

When the Squirtle heard the word "experiment", her fears were confirmed. _They gonna hurt me!_

The second scientist unlocked the Squirtle's cage and slowly pulled it open, but gasped and leapt back in surprise when the tiny Pokemon dove out, scampering clumsily on the smooth floor.

_Follow me!_

"_Catch it!_" one of the men shouted, frantically rushing after the tiny turtle Pokemon.

The Squirtle looked up and saw a tiny speck of light, invisible to the scientists' eyes. She tried with all her might to carry her heavy shell on her weak, scrawny legs and followed the little light. The light darted right in front of a stack of boxes of lab equipment and took a sharp turn. The tiny turtle Pokemon, of course, wasn't fast enough to make the turn and crashed into the boxes. The stack tumbled and fell right in front of the pursuing scientists.

The first scientist swore loudly as he tripped on a syringe rolling on the floor. The second scientist hastily tried to move the boxes and equipment out of the way as the Squirtle shook her head and darted after the light.

The light lead her out of the building and over to a nearby lake. _Jump into the water and curl into your shell!_ the voice in her head demanded. The Squirtle was confused, but obeyed. She dove into the water and curled into her shell, not realizing that she now looked exactly like the stones in the lake.

The two scientists rushed out towards the lake, both cursing this time. "It must have swum away…" the second man said disappointedly.

"D… and we got so far on that experiment too," the first man said. "There's no use trying to catch it now. We'll have to find another Pokemon." That being said, the two men walked away.

The Squirtle leapt out of the water, gasping for air. _Wow… you save me! _

She heard a faint chuckle within her mind. _You may talk, now._

"Chhh…?" the Squirtle questioned, straining to make an understandable sound. "Chh…"

…_Oh dear. Those serums that the scientists injected into you must have hindered your intelligence. Baby Pokemon should be able to speak their native language at birth._

_Huh?_

_Never mind. _

_I no see you… who you?_

_I am someone who wants to help you. You cannot see me, and you are not physically hearing me. I am simply a voice in your head at the moment._

_Oh._

The Squirtle blinked in confusion. So she was just talking, or rather, thinking to a voice in her head? This doesn't make sense… Oh well, a lot of things didn't make sense to her at the moment, anyway.

_I have some things that I must explain to you, Squirtle… some very important things. You must listen very, very carefully…_

------

BabyCharmander lay on her back, staring into the sky. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, full of worry and fear. Bartholomew had been gone for three months. _Three whole, miserable, lonely months_. Scar had gone off to who knows where, leaving the little Charmander all alone.

She rolled over onto her belly, giving a murring whimper. She had been doing nothing but eating, sleeping, and training. Having no one to talk to for three months was no picnic, and the loneliness was starting to drive her insane.

She remembered, however, one of Bartholomew's sermons on patience. He had explained to her that some things will take longer to do than she might like, but if she remained patient then it would come soon enough.

BabyCharmander _had_ remained patient, though. For all three months she waited patiently, but now she was wearing at the end of her patience. But then she remembered another one of Bartholomew's sermons. He had explained that the Creator will not give us challenges or temptations that are too hard for us to handle… So maybe if she just kept waiting for a little longer then Bartholomew would eventually come back.

_BabyCharmander, it is I, Bartholomew, _came a voice. _And I want you to run forward. Do not change your direction, just keep running forward._

The little Charmander gave an ear-to-ear grin. "Mur!" she exclaimed. "It's about time!" She got down onto all fours and blasted off in the direction that she was facing, thinking excitedly of what Bartholomew wanted. Did he know what the Creator's will was for her? Did he have something special to show her? This curiosity kept her going, and after a few hours she finally arrived outside of the forest, waiting for further instruction.

It wasn't needed. Bartholomew appeared in the distance a minute or so later and flew up to BabyCharmander. "Greetings, BabyCharmander," he said, waving a paw and smiling.

"Hi, Bartholomew!" BabyCharmander shouted, hugging the angel.

The Mew laughed. "I take it you missed me. Your patience paid off, however. I have something very important to tell you."

The Charmander looked up into the angelic Pokemon's blue eyes in curiosity. "What is it?"

Bartholomew looked over his shoulder, smiling. "You can come out, now." With that, a small Squirtle crawled out from behind him, waving a paw. "BabyCharmander, I would like you to meet your sister."

"Ch…ch… chaaaar!" the little Squirtle piped, smiling widely.

BabyCharmander stared. "…_what?_" she questioned in amazement. "But she's…"

"A Squirtle, I know." Bartholomew's face darkened. "A group of scientists found her egg and started conducting experiments on it such as injecting the DNA of a Squirtle into her as she was still developing. She still has Charmander in her, as you can see." He pointed to her eyes, which remained the sapphire blue color that one would normally see in Charmanders. "She also still has her fire powers. However, in time she will fully become a Squirtle."

The Squirtle looked up at Bartholomew, blinking in confusion.

"…she is experiencing a terrible side-effect from the Squirtle DNA injection, however," Bartholomew continued. "The injection hindered her intelligence… so she may develop a little slower than normal."

BabyCharmander gave a slow nod. This was… not what she had expected, at all, but she accepted it. "H-hello," she greeted a little unsurely.

"Chaaa!" the Squirtle squeaked, hugging her sibling.

The little lizard winced slightly in this awkward position, but hugged back after a moment.

"I have more good news for you as well," Bartholomew went on. "I am to reveal another part of the Creator's will."

BabyCharmander nearly jumped at this. "Mur! What is it! Tell me!" she exclaimed, her tail lashing behind her in excitement.

"You are to educate your sister as I have educated you."

Her tail froze for a moment, and then drooped. "But… you can teach her that stuff, right?" she asked. She really didn't like this very much…

"Indeed I can. But it is not the Creator's will for me to do so. You must do it on your own. It will prepare you for things to come in the future…" Bartholomew explained.

"Things to come in the future?" BabyCharmander tilted her head to the side. "What things are those?"

"I am not permitted to reveal those things to you. You will find out in time, little one. For now, however, you must educate your younger sister as I have educated you.

The little lizard nodded. This was not at all what she had expected, but it _was _the Creator's will, so she would just have to go with it… She looked down at her sibling, smiling. "C'mon, sis. Wanna hear a story?"

"Y-yeah!" the Squirtle squeaked. She sat down, wagging her large tail happily.

"A long time ago, before you were born, the Creator made the sky and the ground…"


	9. Snuff

I am SO SORRY, folks! After I put up the last chapter, I realized that I forgot to reply to the reviews! Onomur! I'll do that now.

Aura24: Thanks.

…wait, only one review.

Something is wrong here. oO; How can the older, trashier version of this fic get more reviews than the newer, better version? It doesn't make any sense, mur!

Eh well… Anyway, please remember as you read this chapter that 1) this fic is NOT based off the anime and 2) I've not been educated exceptionally well with advanced science, but I tried my best. So this might not be scientifically right, and if it's not, then tell me, please. XD;

Anyway, on with the fic!

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BabyCharmander had been teaching her sister for a few months now. Occasionally Bartholomew would visit to see how BabyCharmander and her sister were doing, but he never seemed to reveal the Creator's will. He would always say "You will know His will in time." The Charmander didn't mind this, though. She was content with simply teaching her sibling. It tried her patience at times, but other than that it was fun working with a child.

BabyCharmander smiled as she watched her sister curl up into her shell after the end of her lessons for the day. Once the tiny turtle was completely inside her shell, the Charmander picked it up with her long tail and started to rock it back and forth, singing softly in her own tongue.

"_Mander charman, chaaar, charman char…_" she sang quietly to ease the Squirtle to sleep. There was a yawn from inside the shell followed slowly by soft breathing, indicating that the Pokemon had fallen asleep. BabyCharmander lay down, continuing to rock the shell back and forth and sing.

"My, this is quite familiar," came a voice.

The Charmander didn't have to look up to know who it was. "Mur? What's familiar, Bartholomew?"

The angelic Pokemon appeared, sitting on a tree branch. "This whole scene," he stated, smiling. He looked over his shoulder and twirled his tail in a large ellipse behind him, creating a portal. An image appeared in that portal—an image of a female Charizard rocking a batch of eggs back and forth with her tail, and singing softly in her native language. Bartholomew swooped his tail through the portal, and it disappeared. "You are just like your mother, Esther."

BabyCharmander wished that Bartholomew hadn't made the portal disappear, but simply nodded anyway. "Thank you…" she said quietly before going back to her singing.

Bartholomew leaned against the tree trunk, folding all six of his wings around him in a relaxed manner. "You also have a beautiful voice, something else inherited from your mother."

The salamander set the shell down, but left her tail wrapped around it to keep it warm. She stopped singing and looked up at Bartholomew, a sorrowful look in her eyes. "I wish I could have known her," she stated.

Bartholomew was silent for a moment, deep in thought. "…you should remember to count your blessings, BabyCharmander, for while you had a mother, I did not."

"Mur?" She raised her head, sitting up slightly. Bartholomew had never told her about his past before… "How could you not have a mother…?" It didn't seem to make much sense. How could one be born without having a mother?

"I do not regret this nor feel any negative feeling towards this fact. Do not worry for me." It was a command, not a request. "If you indeed wish to know, then listen well, for I will only tell this to you once."

He sat up, unfolding his wings into their usual positions. "I was not a true son to my mother. My 'mother' was one of the only two Mews in the world. Legendaries are too powerful for there to be too many, which is why they only reproduce when their time in their mortal life is ending. Because there are only supposed to be two at a time, they are highly sought out. A group of scientists once managed to catch my 'mother'... They found her to be strong, but they wanted something stronger. They somehow caused her to lay an egg, and they put the hatchling through various experiments, making it stronger and stronger. However, the creature, whom they dubbed Mewtwo, because too strong for them to handle, and eventually destroyed the laboratory.

"Another group of scientists thought they could do better. They captured Mew as well, and stole her eggs."

BabyCharmander blinked in confusion. "But I thought that you said that Legendary Pokemon only reproduce just before they die… How could your mother have laid eggs if she—"

Bartholomew cut her off. "Not those kinds of eggs, BabyCharmander."

"…Oh," the Pokemon replied quietly.

"They took her eggs and eventually got them to grow into living creatures… Mews that were stronger than my 'mother'. Many of these creatures died or did not grow properly. They stole one last egg from my 'mother' before she finally managed to escape."

"And you were that egg?" the little lizard questioned.

"Indeed," Bartholomew replied blankly.

"But then… why are you an angel?" BabyCharmander inquired, looking up at the being curiously.

"I died, that is why." There was no sorrow or regret in the Mew's voice. There was almost no expression. He wasn't sad, but he was certainly not happy either. He was simply telling a story... in a blank sort of way. BabyCharmander shivered.

"Okay, so I'm a lot like my mother," she quickly stated, changing the subject. "How am I like my father? …and who _is_ my father anyway?" She had never thought about it before. If she had a mother, she would have to have a father… but who _was _her father?

"Your father…" Bartholomew looked over his shoulder once more, creating another portal with his tail. This time a short Kecleon appeared, looking at a batch of orange eggs. He placed his paw on one, and his paw turned the same orange color as the egg. "Peter."

"…my father was a Kecleon?" BabyCharmander gasped in amazement. "But then that means that I can-"

"Turn invisible," Bartholomew finished, smiling. "Try it."

The little lizard nodded, focusing. _Turn invisible, turn invisible, turn invisible… _she repeated over and over again in her head. Eventually her body began to fade away into nothing, except her tail-flame. "…MUR!"

The angelic Mew laughed, swishing his tail through the portal to make it disappear. "Yes, you can indeed turn invisible. Very nice, BabyCharmander."

"This is sweet, mur!" she exclaimed, standing up and twirling around. All this yelling caused her sister to wake up, poke her head out of her shell, and panic at the sight (or lack thereof) of her older sister dancing around invisibly.

"_Chaaah!_" the Squirtle screeched, quickly ducking back into her shell.

"Mur! Sorry, sis," BabyCharmander apologized. She re-appeared, stooping down to the tiny turtle Pokemon and rubbing her shell. "It's just me, okay? Don't be afraid…" she soothed. The Squirtle calmed down, eventually going back to sleep. "Mur…" The Charmander looked back up at Bartholomew. "How did my father die? You never told me."

Bartholomew looked at BabyCharmander with one of his unreadable expressions. "That is because your father did not die."

"Oh…" The Charmander nodded, but then did a double-take and shouted, "_Mur?_"

"Your father did not die," Bartholomew repeated. "He survived Scar's attack."

"He…" The lizard stood there, jaw open and eyes wide with shock.

_Her father was alive._

"Where is he." It wasn't a question; it was a demand. "_Where is my father._"

Bartholomew gave the Charmander a serious look. "I am not to show you yet," he answered. "It is not the Creator's will."

BabyCharmander stared for a moment, and, without speaking, spun around, got down onto all fours, and charged out of the clearing and off into the forest. Bartholomew hopped off of the branch that he was sitting on and swooped after the Pokemon. "_Charmander!_" he called. "Where are you going?" Both creatures dashed out of the clearing, leaving BabyCharmander's little sibling alone.

"I'm going to find my father!" BabyCharmander shouted, ducking her head as she blasted through a bush.

"You must not!" Bartholomew returned, flying through a few trees. "It is not your time to! You may find your father later, but now is not the time! Turn back around this instant!"

BabyCharmander screeched to a halt, looking over her shoulder to give the angelic Mew an angry look. "My father is alive. I still have family other than my sister… mur… I want to live with my father… I want to have at least one parental figure besides you, Bartholomew…" Her expression turned soft again. "You're a good mentor and all, but you're not a parent."

Bartholomew ignored this. "It is not your time to meet your father. No good will result from this, trust me," he insisted, his face growing darker.

"No good?" the Charmander exclaimed. "What are you talking about! I'll finally meet one of my parents, how is that not good?"

"Just trust me," Bartholomew said. It was obvious that he didn't want to tell BabyCharmander what exactly was going on. It was a test of her faith: he wanted her to trust him without him explaining what was going on.

The little lizard missed this point. "I want to see my father, Bartholomew." She thought for a moment. "…You have access to information like this… can you tell me where he is?"

Bartholomew remained silent for a moment and looked into the sky as though waiting for someone to tell him what to say. He looked back down at BabyCharmander, nodding. "Follow me." He flew above the Charmander and gave her a serious look. "I will not promise you that you will like what you find, though." With that, he became a tiny speck of light and started to dart through the forest. BabyCharmander followed.

---

As the day dragged on, BabyCharmander began to wonder if Bartholomew really was leading her to her father, but the excitement kept her going. She was so excited about finally meeting her father that she didn't care about or notice how much her legs ached and how tired she was getting. She kept her eyes focused on the tiny light in front of her, but came to an abrupt stop when it disappeared. "Bartholomew?" she questioned, looking around. "Bartholomew, where are you?"

"Who's there?" came a whispering voice coming from behind a berry-bush

"Mur?" BabyCharmander slowly crept up to the bush and looked behind it. Instantly there was a scream and the Charmander saw a pink line dart out from behind the bush. "Hey, wait!" she called, darting after the line.

The little lizard chased the pink zigzag line, only half paying attention. Questions were starting to flood her mind. _Is this my father? It can't be… My father wouldn't be this cowardly. But if it's not my father… who is it? Why did Bartholomew lead me to him?_

She continued to chase the line until it dropped to the ground by a small rock. "Don't hurt me don't hurt me _please_ don't hurt me I didn't do anything to you and I don't taste very good so don't hunt me either leave me alone…"

The Charmander stared. "I… don't eat meat, and I wouldn't hurt anyone for no reason," she said, sounding completely honest, if a little confused. She blinked as an outline formed around the pink line and eventually a Kecleon came into view.

The Kecleon was sprawled on the ground, gazing up at BabyCharmander with wide eyes. He was definitely bigger than her, but for some reason he was still terrified. "Wh-what do you want?"

The little lizard swished her tail. _No, this probably isn't him. I'll just ask if he knows him… _"Mur, I was wondering… do you know anyone named Peter?"

The Kecleon stared. "P-P-Peter?" he exclaimed, eyes growing wider. "Wh-why do you want him?"

"Because…" _Should I tell him? _She thought for a moment. "…because, he's my father."

The green lizard froze. His eyes were locked onto BabyCharmander, widening even more. He stared for what seemed like forever.

The Charmander understood this reaction. "…Father?" Her voice was reluctant.

The Kecleon did not seem happy or sad… yet. "…Where is your mother?" he questioned carefully.

BabyCharmander seemed confused. "She… died, remember?"

Peter choked as he tried to force the tears away. "I feared so…" he whispered. He ducked his head down in shame.

"But… you knew that, didn't you?" the lizard asked. "I mean, you seem pretty strong." She smiled, looking into the sky as she imagined out the scene. "I can imagine you fighting off the Scythers and you tried to defend Mother. But then when they killed her, you had no reason to keep fighting and escaped with your life, as well as me an' my sister's eggs!" She looked back at her father, and instantly the heroic vision melted away into reality. Tears were rolling down his face as he held his arms over his head in a cowardly position.

"…No," he whimpered. "I ran away… I-I was afraid of the Scythers killing me… so I ran away… I didn't want to die…"

BabyCharmander stared in shock. Instead of valiantly defending his mate, he simply ran away like a spinelss coward. He didn't even attempt to fight, fearing his own death over his mate's… Anger surged through the Charmander. She stomped towards her father, growling dangerously. Peter looked up, but quickly ducked down again upon seeing his daughter's expression.

"You selfish little _coward_," she snarled. She had momentarily forgotten whom she was talking to. The Kecleon turned invisible at the last word, whimpering. "If I were in your place I would have fought to the death rather than have my mate die! How could you do that? You could have saved her! But no, all you thought of was yourself!"

Peter cringed, choking back tears as each painful truth slithered out of his daughter's mouth and pierced through his heart with its cruel fangs.

"Because of your running away, I had to live all of my life as an orphan! An _orphan_! How could you do this to me!" she snarled. The salamander then stopped, changing her attitude from heated anger to icy coldness.

"No," she growled. "I'd rather be an orphan than have you be my father. You are not worthy to have kids you… you…" She couldn't think of the word.

It was getting harder and harder for Peter to choke back his sobs now. It was all true… she was right… It was all true…

"Go ahead and run away," BabyCharmander spat. "That's all you'll ever do, isn't it?" With that, she got down on all fours and trotted away.

Peter couldn't even cry now as the painful truths began to rip holes in his heart. She was right… She was right…

------

The Squirtle screamed within her shell as a pack of Poochyenas surrounded her, tearing and biting her shell. BabyCharmander quickly entered the clearing and released a fireball, quickly driving the fearful dogs away. She sighed and scampered up to her sister, rocking her back and forth.

"It's all right… I'm here," she soothed. The Squirtle soon quieted down and fell back asleep. "I shouldn't have left her…"

"Indeed, you should not have," a voice said from nearby.

"I know, Bartholomew, but at least I set that Kecleon straight," she stated.

"No. What you said was very harmful to him," Bartholomew replied, his face turning very dark. BabyCharmander looked up, giving him a confused look.

"What do you mean, Bartholomew?" she questioned cautiously. "My words weren't THAT harsh, were they?"

The angel gave his student a very angry look. "In your anger you lost control of your tongue. Do you remember what I said about the tongue?"

"You said that the tongue is the most powerful weapon someone can wield," she quoted. "But he should get over what I said eventually, even if my words _were_ harsh."

"No," the Mew stated. "He is dead."

The Charmander's eyes widened, her mouth falling open. "…_what_."

"He committed suicide not long ago. Your words were far too harsh, BabyCharmander. You pushed him down so low that he concluded that he was completely useless and fell upon a jagged rock."

Realization soon hit her like a rock on the head. _I killed him I killed him I killed him I killed him. _She was starting to feel very light-headed… The world was starting to spin faster and faster, and her stomach gave a lurch.

The Charmander doubled over as the contents of her stomach spilled onto the ground. She stared into nothingness, expression blank, and just stood there, gasping.

"Do you see why I told you to not meet your father yet? Do you now see why you should listen to me more often?" He didn't wait for a reply. "You are far too inexperienced at controlling both your temper and your tongue. If you had waited until I gave you permission, you could seek out your father and speak with him without causing him emotional harm to the point where he went into extremes like that. Do you see now? Do you understand why you must trust my word?"

BabyCharmander understood, but made no response. She had caused the death of her father, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Everything grew dark, and the little Pokemon passed out.


	10. In the Dark

I'm not late this time! BWAHA! Anyway… time to reply to the… review.

The Cougar: Thanks… though can you find anything wrong with the fic? I'd really appreciate some constructive criticism.

Some of my beta testers said that this chapter was somewhat offensive. So if you're any religion other than Christian, then… you might be offended. XD; Sorry. Read it if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you.

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PsyChar sat in the darkness, unmoving. His eyes were closed, his legs were crossed, his arms were folded, and his tail was perked straight into the air. He had remained in this position for months as the demons came in, sacrificing innocent blood to him to give him power. A grey and red Growlithe trotted into the cave, dropping a dead Seviper at his feet. The demon chanted in a strange tongue, and energy flowed from the Seviper into PsyChar. The Charmander's red and black eyes flew open, causing the demon that stood before him to jump back in surprise.

"Ps-PsyChar!" the demon exclaimed. "You've awakened!"

"Bow, you fool!" PsyChar snarled. The Growlithe did so quickly, hoping that PsyChar wouldn't attack him for forgetting. "Go out and fetch my demons. The time has come. I have fully recovered my power, and I am ready to gain even more…"

The Growlithe looked up at his master, quivering slightly. "You mean… the Charmander?"

"Yes. It is time for me to gain her power… Just a bit of trickery, and it will be mine…" A grin split across his black-scaled face as he began to give an evil laugh. "It will finally be mine… And I will have enough power to enslave every being in this miserable planet!"

---

Something was wrong with BabyCharmander. The little Squirtle could tell. When her older sister told her stories, the Charmander would be rather blank, as though thinking of something else. When she was teaching her lessons, she would be distracted and say things wrong. The little Squirtle didn't understand it.

_Glow-guy, _she thought in her mind, _why sister act funny?_

_She is mourning, young one. She did something very bad, and she is very sad about it. She is always thinking about the mistake that she made, and is distracted from properly teaching your lessons. _

_Will she be 'kay?_

_In time she will indeed be fine. But until then you must be patient with her and wait for her to put her mistake behind her._

_Why? It in front of her so she no see?_

_Just… wait until she is better._

The Squirtle nodded and looked over at BabyCharmander. The lizard was currently staring into a stream, eyes wide yet blank. An odd noise took her attention away from her older sibling and towards the forest. She could hear someone… singing. No, it wasn't one person. It was a bunch of people! Only they weren't singing different notes. It was all one note…

_Once a normal, never again…_

She didn't like it. It made her uneasy. The tiny turtle turned back towards her sister and started to shake her. "Cha… char!"

BabyCharmander didn't notice the Squirtle approach her. _I can't believe I did that… I'm so stupid… I can't believe it… I can't…_

The chanting was getting louder and more fervent, frightening the Squirtle. She shook her sister again, harder this time. "_Chaaaarrr!_" she whimpered, hoping for her sister to snap out of the trance.

"Murur…" BabyCharmander muttered. "What is it?" She started to awaken from her day-dream (or nightmare, rather) and as her mind began to clear she started to hear the chanting. She instantly jumped up, eyes wider than ever now. "No… no! It can't be!" A tremor rose up from her body.

_Possessed by the Dark One, the Torturer of Men…_

"The demons are coming!" She frantically looked around, hoping for Bartholomew to appear. "Bartholomew!" she called. "Bartholomew! Where are you?"

_Once a kind one, not anymore; a servant of Evil, the Villain of all lore…_

The chanting was getting faster and louder now. "_Bartholomew!_" she screamed. The Mew didn't appear. The Charmander took a breath, attempting to relax. Panicking was not going to help her. She had to get out of there and run to safety. She had to take her sister, too, but she had gotten much too heavy for her to carry with her tail… She glanced around and found a vine hanging down from a tree. The lizard sliced the vine from the tree and tied it around her sister's shell, then tied the shell to her own back. "Come on, sis, you're going for a ride!"

"Chaaah!" the Squirtle exclaimed happily.

BabyCharmander looked into the distance with a determined look on her face, got down on all fours, and darted off. The shell was heavy, but she had to get out of there… She leapt over the small stream and darted through the forest, not looking back. The demons were coming, and she had to get out of there.

A tree branch scratched irritably at her side, and she ducked her head as she breezed through a bush. "Hide in your shell, Sis', this is gonna be a rough ride…"

"Dah…" The tiny turtle Pokemon ducked completely into her shell to protect herself from the branches and bushes.

BabyCharmander continued to run for quite some time. She finally got out of the forest and into a wide, open field. The little Charmander could hear shouting behind her as one of the demonic Pokemon began to catch up with her, and looked over her shoulder to find that a black and red Rapidash was following her. The lizard faced the path ahead again, squinting her eyes shut and attempting to run with faster speed. Even then, the unicorn Pokemon was still catching up.

"Bartholomew… help…" she panted, yet received no answer. Bartholomew was not with her. "Bartholomew… please…" she called again, sweat beginning to pour off of her scales. The Rapidash was gaining on her, and Bartholomew wasn't there to help her… so there was only one other thing she could do.

She let herself drop to the ground, landing face-first into the grass. _Creator… help me… give me speed… _

Instantly she was blessed with a new ability. She opened her eyes and rose to her feet. Just as the Rapidash came up behind her, she gave a great shout. "_AGILITY!_"

The Charmander almost became a blur as she burst through the field with incredible speed. She threw back her head and laughed. _Thank you, Creator… thank you._

---

BabyCharmander ran for miles with her new Agility ability. The ability was beginning to wear out though as she renewed it over and over again… It was draining her valuable energy, and each time it was getting less effective. PsyChar had used his dark powers to increase the speed of his army, which was now starting to gain on the little Charmander again. She whimpered, wondering how long she could keep this up.

_I need more help!_ she prayed. _This Agility ability is draining my energy and those demons are catching up! You've gotta help me!_

Nothing happened instantly unlike the last time she prayed. But as the army got closer, BabyCharmander began to hear a buzzing noise in the distance. The buzzing grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening. A large group of blurs suddenly breezed in front of her, sending her backwards in surprise. They circled her a few times and began to slow down until she could define what they were: Scythers.

One of the Scythers, easily recognizable as Scar, stepped out of the group and up to BabyCharmander, giving a toothy grin. "Hey there, BabyCharmander. Thought you needed a claw, so we came here. Don't worry about that army over there… we got your back covered."

The Charmander gave a relieved smile. "Thank you so much…" she breathed.

"No problem. Just doin' what the Creator wills," the Scyther said, giving her a salute. He then led his herd towards PsyChar's army and engaged in battle with it, giving BabyCharmander the time she needed to get away.

The salamander renewed her Agility and continued to blast forward again. She was nearing the end of her energy, but she kept pushing herself, reminding herself that she had to get away from those demons to save not only herself, but also her little sister from PsyChar.

For hours BabyCharmander continued to run. Her legs felt as though a thousand knives were stabbing into them, and her stomach was beginning to implode from lack of food. She continued to press herself to run, but her body was disagreeing. Her sight was giving out now, everything slowly turning to black. She could see something in the distance, and continued to run to it. Things were getting darker and darker as the little lizard continued to run, and she soon passed out.

---

Two guards stood in front of the large village of Char Town. One of them was a large Charmander. His scales were red, signifying that he was nearly a Charmeleon. He held a long spear in his right paw, and on his head he wore a wooden helmet that had been carved and painted to look like an ancient Dratini. The second guard was a Charmeleon with light red scales. He held a long spear similar to the Charmander's in his right paw, and wore a wooden helmet that had been carved and painted to look like a Dragonair.

"Somethin's out there," the Charmeleon noted, narrowing his eyes as he looked into the distance. His voice was deep, and he spoke with a strange accent. "'Might be an enemy. D'you think we should go look n' see, Luke?" He turned his helmeted head slightly towards the Charmander as he addressed him.

"Shur, it's betta' n' stayin' 'round 'ere. It's borin' 's all scrap," Luke replied. His voice was extremely low and annoying for a Charmander and his accent was horribly irritating. "Les' check it out, Mahk."

The Charmeleon, apparently named Mark, nodded slowly. "Awight. Just get ready t' fight if it's an enemy."

The two guards rushed off towards the object in the distance. As they got closer, they found that it was a very small, female Charmander. She had a scar under her left eye and a Squirtle shell tied to her back by a vine. Mark snorted.

"Musta' been travelin' a long time," he muttered as he eyed the Charmander's blistered feet. "C'mon, Luke. Let's take 'er to the healer." The chameleon Pokemon glanced over at his friend to find him in a complete daze. The male Charmander was staring at the female one, his eyes almost taking the shape of hearts.

"Bai guh…" he gasped, stabbing his spear into the ground and leaning on the handle of it. "She sure izza 'ot one... Ah wunder if she came out all thiz' way 'cuz she wuz' lookin' fer a mate…"

Mark smacked Luke lightly on the helmet with his spear. "This's no time t' fantasize, Luke. We gotta take 'er back t' town."

Luke jumped up, ginning eagerly at Mark. "C'n Oy carreh 'er? C'n Oy pleeeez carreh 'er?"

The Charmeleon stepped back slightly. "Er, mebbe I should carreh 'er."

"Aww…" Luke moaned, his tail drooping. He trudged after Mark as the Charmeleon carried the female Charmander back to the village. "Lesse wut Jawn c'n make of 'er."

Mark smiled. "Yup, John'll prob'ly know what she's doin' here. He know's everythin'." He looked down at the Charmander that he was carrying, then at the shell. "An' mebbe he'll know what this shell is…"

The two Chars walked through the gates. The town consisted of many huts in which families of Chars resided. These huts were covered in strange painted or carved symbols. There were dirt paths throughout the town on which many Charmanders, Charmeleons, and Charizards walked. These Pokemon wore various helmets similar to Mark and Luke's carved and painted to look like ancient Pokemon. At the farther end of the town, a larger building was visible. Unlike the wooden huts, this building was made of stone and had what looked to be many, many altars surrounding it. Overall, the town's atmosphere had an eerie feel to it…

Many of the Chars stared as Mark carried the strange Charmander to the back of the village toward the large building. "JOHN!" Mark called.

"'EH JAWN!" Luke yelled, cupping his paws to his mouth to amplify his voice.

A loud stomping noise was heard inside the building, and soon a large Charizard emerged from it. Long fangs protruded out of his mouth, and his giant wings were torn and worn with age. His claws were long and sharpened, and his tail flame burned brightly. Finally, atop his head he wore a helmet carved and painted to look like an ancient Dragonite. Yet despite his fearsome appearance, he had a kind look in his eyes. "What is it, Mark? Luke?" His voice was gentle and warm, and he spoke without an accent.

"We found this Charmander outside a' th' village, John," Mark responded, setting the lizard at the Charizard's feet.

John stooped down to look at the Charmander, frowning. "She looks as though she has been traveling for a long time…" He closed his eyes, holding his paws over her body and concentrating. "…she was running away from someone…she was in danger…" He opened his eyes. "The gods must have brought her here so that we could protect her…" The dragon nodded. "Yes, that is it. She needs healing." He stood back up to his full height. "Healer!" he shouted.

Another Charizard, a shorter one, stepped out of the building. He wore a helmet that resembled an ancient Blissey. The dragon-like Pokemon walked over to the Charmander, examined her, and got down on his knees. He held his paws over her and began chanting in a strange tongue.

After a while, BabyCharmander jumped up, her heart pounding in her throat, her eyes wide, and sweat pouring off of her scales. "Where am I? Who are you? What's going on? Murur…" she whimpered. The little lizard fearfully looked at the people staring at her.

The healer stood up, giving John a confused look. "She's got somethin' weird 'bout her. I couldn't heal her, 'cuz somethin' was in th' way," he whispered. "Somethin' was tellin' me t' go away."

John frowned again, whispering back to the Charizard. "I'll have a look at her later." He turned back to BabyCharmander.

"Do not fear, young one," the flame Pokemon said, smiling warmly. "We mean you no harm. You are in Char Town, the home of the Chars. I am John, the leader of this village, and the healer here," he motioned to the other Charizard, "was simply doing his job."

"…oh," BabyCharmander said slowly. She gulped. Something about this town was strange... haunting, even.

"Tell me," John started, giving the lizard a serious look. "Were you running from someone?"

"Y-yes…" the Charmander replied, ducking her head down slightly.

The Charizard nodded, smiling again. "That is what the gods told me. They brought you here for us to heal and protect you."

"Ah," the little flame Pokemon responded, nodding. She suddenly gave a double-take, blinking at the Charizard. "_Gods?_ But… I thought there was only one God!"

John stared at her incredulously. "One God?" Instantly the whole group of Chars burst into laughter. "One God could not take care of us all! He would be far too busy with more important matters to worry about our little lives!" He shook his head, seeming amused. "No, my friend, there are many gods. The god of strength, the Dragonite," he pointed to his helmet, "the god of healing, Blissey," he pointed to the healer's helmet, "There are many of them, each one with a special purpose."

"Mur…" BabyCharmander muttered, her tail twitching. "But I was always taught there was one God, the Creator, who created all the worlds and Pokemon and stuff, and He could do a lot of things at once and stuff…"

John looked back over at the healer Charizard and leaned towards him, whispering. "That's why you couldn't heal her. Her mind is full of ridiculous thoughts like that that won't let the gods help her. We'll soon correct that." The healer nodded, and John turned back to the Charmander. "Well, I will explain everything later. For now, we must get you a hut. And…" He gave her an odd look. "Why do you have a shell tied to your back?"

"Mur? Oh! That's my sister!" BabyCharmander smiled, untying the vine around her stomach and setting the shell on the ground. She tapped on the shell, whispering. "Wake up, Sis'."

The little Squirtle poked her head out of her shell. The Chars gasped, some of them stepping back.

"That's a Squirtle!" Mark cried in horror. The crowd began to murmur and shout, but John soon silenced that by roaring angrily.

"SILENCE!" The crowed obeyed, the commotion quickly ending. "Now, young one, do you mind giving us the explanation of why you carried that… water Pokemon… into our village?"

"It's because… she's…" BabyCharmander's voice was failing her. All of the Pokemon glaring at her and murmuring made her nervous…

"S-s-s…" the tiny turtle Pokemon said, forcing out the words. "S-s-s-s-sis…ter… S-s-s-s-s-quir…tle…"

The Charmander gasped. "Sis… you talked!"

"S-sister… Squirtle!" the Squirtle piped, clearer this time. Another gasp resounded from the crowd.

"So this is your sister…" John murmured. "I don't know how this can be, but if the gods willed this, then we must not argue." He looked over at Mark and Luke. "Mark, go back to your post. Luke, show this Charmander and… Squirtle to their new hut."

Mark nodded and walked off, while Luke beamed. He darted over to BabyCharmander, grinning. "C'mon! Oy'll show ya' t' yer' noo 'ouse!" he exclaimed.

BabyCharmander gave a nervous grin, standing up and walking slowly towards the red Charmander. "All right… C'mon… SisterSquirtle," she called.

The Squirtle, now receiving the title of SisterSquirtle, crawled on all fours after her sister. "Chaaaah!"

Luke grinned wider as he led BabyCharmander to her hut. "Y'kno', Oy fought off 'bout a 'undred Dunspahrs just t' save you," he stated proudly.

"Thank you…?" BabyCharmander said awkwardly, doubting that the Charmander was telling the truth.

"An' y'kno' wut els'?" the red Charmander asked, stepping back so that he was now walking beside the female lizard. "You're reeeeel purdy." He was staring into her eyes, a ridiculously large grin planted on his face.

"Uh, uh, uh…" BabyCharmander stuttered. This Charmander was starting to frighten her…

"An' y'know wut els' els'?" Luke questioned, leaning close to the Charmander. "Th' prop'r way uv sayin' thanks is t' kiss th' pursin' 'oo sez' it." If it was possible, his grin got wider.

"Uh… uh… okay…" The female Charmander gulped, reluctantly leaning towards the male. She squinted her eyes shut, kissing him lightly on the muzzle.

Luke went nuts.

The red Charmander performed several back flips, yelling out in sheer happiness as he did so. He then ran around in circles, leaving a large trail of dust in his wake. "SHEKISS'DMESHEKISS'DMESHELUFFSME!1!1"

Suddenly he stood completely still, eyes wide. His entire body started to glow as he began to grow larger and change shape. When he stopped glowing, he was a different creature: a Charmeleon.

Luke bounded over to BabyCharmander, grinning with an even wider grin. "That there shows th' pow'r uv troo luv', oy?"

BabyCharmander ducked down, shaking her head. "Oy…"

---

BabyCharmander and SisterSquirtle examined their new hut. It was relatively small, but it worked. It had two nests in one corner; a desk with a Noctowl quill, paper, and ink on it and a chair beside it; two chairs around another table; and finally, a large collection of small, wooden idols. SisterSquirtle curled up in one of the nests while BabyCharmander strode up to the collection of idols and frowned, her tail drooping.

"I don't understand this… Bartholomew never taught me about these other gods before…" she muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

There was the sound that sounded like the shriek of a bird and the yell of an angry cat as Bartholomew appeared in a burst of feathers. All six of his wings were beating angrily, and his eyes were narrowed. BabyCharmander stepped back not from surprise, but from fear, for the last time Bartholomew appeared in this manner was because a demon was nearby.

"That is because they do not exist," Bartholomew snarled, his tail flicking furiously.

"Th-then why do all of these people believe in them?" the little lizard Pokemon whimpered.

"Partially because of their own foolishness…" the angelic Mew responded, flying over to the window. "But that is not all… look."

The Charmander obeyed, walking over to the window and looking out of it. She saw the Chars walking around the streets, going about their business. "I don't see anything odd, mur…"

"Then I will give you temporary vision…" Bartholomew waved his tail over BabyCharmander's eyes. Knowing what her response would be, he quickly covered his paws over her mouth to keep her from screaming. He waited for the shock to wear off before he finally took them away.

The lizard stared, eyes wide with horror and fear. "Bartholomew…" she gasped. "Wh…what _are_ they?"

BabyCharmander could now see demonic Pokemon walking alongside the Chars, whispering. Not only were there demonic Pokemon, but there were also creatures that BabyCharmander had never seen before. They looked like what Bartholomew had described before as "humans", but they wore black and red robes and had torn wings, and looked a hundred times more frightening.

"They are false prophets," he snarled, wings beating faster. "They constantly whisper lies to the lost, blinding their minds from the Truth and giving them false ideas."

The Charmander whimpered as her special vision faded away, and she could only behold earthly beings aside from Bartholomew. She turned to the Mew, eyes still wide. "Bartholomew… it isn't the Creator's will for me to be here… is it?"

He turned to look at her. "It is. It is His will for you to bring the Truth…" He looked back out the window. "…to this entire village."

"_What!_" BabyCharmander screamed. "But I can't do that!"

"Of course you cannot," Bartholomew stated. He smiled, continuing, "without the Creator's help."

The Charmander gulped, nodding. "O-okay…"

The angelic Pokemon floated over to the idols, frowning again. "You must first burn these idols. This will show the other villagers that you do not share their beliefs, and are firm in your own."

"Mur'kay…" BabyCharmander said with a nod. She looked fearfully back out the window. "But Bartholomew… I'm scared. Won't all those demons out there attack me if I try to tell those people the Truth?"

"They cannot," Bartholomew replied. "They are afraid as well, for the Creator is here."

"He… is?" the little lizard exclaimed, looking around. "Where?"

The Mew smiled, placing his paw on BabyCharmander's heart. "Right here."

The Charmander looked at Bartholomew's paw, then up at the Mew's glowing face. She understood what her job was, now… It wasn't going to be easy, but if the Creator willed it, then she would do it!


	11. Spark

Hiya folks! Time for the next chapter, an' time to reply to the reviews! …er, review, anyway.

Aura24- Er, I didn't stop. Oo; I update every week, mur.

On with the fic

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Luke proudly pranced around Char Town in his new Charmeleon form and with his new Dragonair helmet. He had increased in rank with his evolution, for John told him that "the god of strength is pleased when one of his followers grows in strength".

He accidentally smacked a few people in the face with his long tail, which he was whipping around happily. He hastily apologized to the offended Chars, for he had something important to do, and he wanted to do it right away.

In his arms he carried two newly-carved helmets: a Scyther helmet for the first rank of a follower of the god of endurance for BabyCharmander (as the Chars learned that she traveled for many miles and many hours to avoid PsyChar's attack), and a Magikarp helmet for the first rank of a follower of the god of water for SisterSquirtle.

The Charmeleon finally reached BabyCharmander's hut. He carefully balanced the two helmets on one paw as he used his other paw to knock on the door. He grinned widely as the little lizard appeared in the entranceway to the house.

"'Ello there, BabehChahmand'r," he greeted. "Oy got sum'n fer ya'."

BabyCharmander nodded. "Come in then, mur." She backed up, allowing the Charmeleon entrance.

Luke stepped into the room, holding out the helmets. "Oy got sum 'elmets fer y-" Quite suddenly he dropped both of the helmets as he stared open-mouthed at the back of the hut. "WUT TH' BLOOMIN' 'ECK 'ID Y' DO?"

In the back of the hut there was a smoldering pile of ashes where the idols used to be. BabyCharmander looked back at the pile, frowning. "I see no purpose in keeping those things around if I don't intend to worship them. I worship the Creator and the Creator alone, thank you very much, mur."

Luke's eyes grew wide, his jaw hanging as far as it would go. A tremor rose up his body as he spun around, dashing out of the hut. "JAAAAAAWWWWWWWWNN!" he yelled frantically. After a moment he poked his head back through the door, eyes still wide and fearful. "Oy, th' gods'll 'ave yer 'ead fer this! Oy d'no woy y'wanna do somethin' loik this… Ooohhh…" He quickly darted away once more.

SisterSquirtle poked her head out from her shell, blinking.

BabyCharmander blinked as well, looking back at her sister. "I think that was the wrong way of saying it, don't you?"

The Squirtle blinked again. "Dah…?"

It was only a minute or two before John appeared in the doorway, his face set in a serious expression. "What's going on now?" he questioned, approaching BabyCharmander. He examined the hut and noticed the ashes in the back of the room. He didn't seem surprised, but simply nodded. "I see. BabyCharmander, come with me."

BabyCharmander wasn't sure whether she should be happy that John didn't lash out at her or fearful of what he wanted. She cautiously looked over her shoulder at SisterSquirtle. "Should I bring—"

"No, she can stay here." The Charizard noted the two helmets on the floor, and gently picked them up. "Now follow me." With that, he turned around and walked out the door at a normal pace.

BabyCharmander reluctantly followed, and couldn't help but notice all of the Pokemon staring at her and whispering. She also noticed that John was completely silent, his face stern. _Oh mur… I'm in for it… _She swallowed, looking up at the sky. _Help me, Creator… I dunno what to expect and I don't know what to do…_

John led her to the large building that she had woken up nearby yesterday. If one looked inside of it, it could be identified as a temple. There were very large stone idols there, each of them gazing at the floor with their enormous yet empty eyes. The Charizard walked towards two of them, a Gyrados and a Scisor, placing the two helmets in their appropriate shrines. He then turned and looked back toward BabyCharmander, holding out one of his arms to indicate a row of idols. "You see all of these?" he questioned firmly.

"Yes…" the little lizard responded quietly. _Help me, Creator, help me…_

"Do you know who they are?" John inquired. The young Pokemon nodded slowly. "Then why did you do what you did?"

"B-because those gods aren't real," she stated, feeling a little more bold. "They're just made of stone and wood."

John shook his head. "Young one… you do not understand. These are images of the gods that we worship, not the gods themselves. They become very angry if their images are defiled." He gazed over at one of the idols: a giant, gold-painted Dragonite. He bowed his head down in respect to it. "BabyCharmander… you must respect the gods. If you do not, then it will only bring suffering to my village. I don't want that, you don't want that, no one wants that. You must understand."

BabyCharmander, feeling a gush of courage within her, stepped forward. "No, _you_ have to understand!" she yelled. "These gods are not real. Worshiping to them won't do anything."

John frowned. "Oh, it won't, will it?" He held out a paw, and in a moment it ignited with a black flame. "The god of strength gave me this power. Look at this flame and tell me that my god is not real."

The Charmander cringed. She could feel the false prophet's power surging through the Charizard… "That power isn't of the gods, it's of the demons," she stated, lowering her head.

The flame dissipated in the Charizard's claws. He lowered his arm, staring right into BabyCharmander's eyes. "How so?" he inquired, growling quietly.

_Creator, help me, please… _She met John's gaze, speaking words that were not her own. "…a true God wouldn't give you power for no reason, nor would He be severely angered and send evil upon you like you described. A true God would have the time and power to deal with every individual person's life. A true God would demand service, not continual ritualistic sacrifice. A true God would _love _you enough to forgive your mistakes no matter how horrible they are. Furthermore, a true God would never ever turn His back on you, even if you forsake Him."

John was silent. He stared at BabyCharmander for a moment before turning around, avoiding her gaze. "Such a God does not exist."

BabyCharmander stepped forward. "You have a god of strength, a god of healing, a god of endurance, a god of every single ability and element there is. But why not a God of love? A God that gives an unconditional love? A God that has every single power combined? A God that—"

"Silence." It wasn't shouted, but it wasn't spoken softly either. "Leave this place. Now."

Feeling that now wasn't the time to persist the questions, BabyCharmander trudged out of the temple, her tail drooping as a feeling of defeat enveloped her. "I'm sorry…" she whispered, hanging her head low as she exited the building.

John rose, looking at the rows of idols. He stopped at a large one resembling a giant Noctowl and bowed to it. "O Noctowl, give me wisdom, I pray, that I might be able to turn BabyCharmander to you and your brethren. She does not see your greatness… Please withhold your punishment from this village until I can convert this fool. Tell me what I must do," he prayed.

A false prophet spoke through the idol with a powerful voice. "Bring me a sacrifice, and I will consider sparing your people. If that Charmander continues to mock us, we will send a great and terrible punishment. You must convert her within a week. If you do not succeed, then we will strike her dead."

John bowed his head. "Yes, my god. I shall prepare an offering right now, and I will try my best to convert this Charmander, but you must give me the wisdom on how to do so."

"So be it."

---

BabyCharmander lay on her bed, swishing her tail slowly. "It didn't work, mur…" she mumbled sorrowfully. "They're never gonna stop worshiping those stupid idols…"

Bartholomew's voice echoed in her mind. "Do not give up hope so easily, BabyCharmander," he stated. "You must try again."

"But Bartholomew…" she whined.

"You must try again…" The voice faded away.

BabyCharmander flopped her tail a few times. "I dun feel good, mur," she muttered. "I haven't drunk anythin' for a while…" She rose on all fours, slowly trotting out of the hut and outside. As she trotted down the street, she saw Luke sitting on one of the logs that lined the streets to serve as seats, daydreaming. "Mur, uh, s'cuse me Luke, but do you know where the fireberry bushes are here?"

Because Chars can't drink water due to the fact that it would put out their fire sack, they drink fireberry juice instead. Fireberry juice is very bitter, however, but it is necessary for the Chars to drink to live.

Luke was startled for a moment, but quickly relaxed when he found that it was only BabyCharmander. He smiled widely. "So! Th' gods didn' stroik ya' ded! Tha's good t' 'ear!" he exclaimed. "An'… whu d'you want foirberreh bushes for?"

"Uhh… to drink fireberry juice?" BabyCharmander was confused. Why wouldn't Luke know about that?

"Oh… y'still drink tha' scrap?" Luke questioned. He smirked. "We drink somethin' else. Wait roit 'ere." The Charmeleon rose and darted off. He returned with a large stone jar and two stone cups. Inside of the jar was a somewhat thick, orange-red liquid. He poured it into both of the cups. "This 'ere is 'ot sauce. We got th' recipe from th' 'umans. It's a lawt betta' n' foirberry juice." He took a large gulp from one of the cups. He then paused for a moment before belching out a fireball. "'Ere, troi some." The lizard handed BabyCharmander a cup.

The Charmander winced at Luke's belch and cautiously accepted the cup. She glanced at the strange liquid within and looked up at Luke's grinning face. She was afraid to try this new drink, but she was so thirsty… Squinting her eyes, she quickly downed the liquid.

As the hot sauce poured into her mouth, BabyCharmander found that it didn't taste so bad after all. In fact, it tasted a lot better than the fireberry juice that she had drunken before. With a smile, she gulped down the rest of the cup and exhaled a small flame. "Thanks, Luke, mur!"

"Eh, no prob'," Luke responded with a grin. He poured some of the sauce into the glasses again, and the two continued to drink.

As BabyCharmander took another sip of the hot sauce, she felt the ground shake slightly as John stomped into town. She looked up at the Charizard and instantly spat out the sauce.

John was carrying a dead Chikorita in his jaws.

The Charmander's mouth dropped and her face began to turn wan. A tremor rose up through her body, and soon the lizard found herself scampering on all fours away.

"Eh! EH!" Luke called. "Whuz' wrong? Somethin' in th' 'ot sauce?" He glanced at the jar before charging after BabyCharmander. "EH! STOP!"

BabyCharmander obeyed, curling up on the ground and shivering uncontrollably. "D-did you see John?" she whimpered.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, woi?"

"H-he was carrying a… d-d-dead Chikorita!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide in horror.

The Charmeleon blinked. "So…?" After a moment of silence he finally understood. "OH! Dun worreh, Jawn's jus' sacrificin' somethin' so th' gods dun get angreh."

"Mur… but he…"

"Dun worreh, oy? We'd neva' kill a civiloized Pokehmawn," Luke explained. "Them things tha' we 'unt aren' loik us. They're loik… jus' animuls."

BabyCharmander nodded slowly, but didn't feel any more relieved. Not only did they worship false gods; they sacrificed animals to them, too…

Her thoughts were interrupted by Luke's mumblings. "Meh… Oy wish tha' we didn' 'ave t' sacrifoice them things t' th' gods. Oi'd ratheh eat th' animal than sacrifoice it…" The Charmeleon covered his mouth, glancing around fearfully. "OY! Y'dun think they 'eard me, d'you?"

BabyCharmander laughed slightly, shaking her head. The color started to return to her face, and she rose up, flicking her tail in amusement. "Nah, I dun think so, mur," she replied. Just then, an idea entered her mind. After going over a quick prayer in her mind, she looked over at Luke, smiling. "I dun have to sacrifice things to the Creator," she explained.

Luke looked over at the Charmander curiously. "Oy've neva' 'eard ov a God that dun wunt sacrifoices," he stated, crossing his arms. "Oy've neva' 'eard ov th' 'Creator', either. 'Oo's 'e?"

The Charmander grinned. _It worked… Thanks, Creator._ "He created everything," she explained, motioning with her paws. "He has lots of other names, too, but that's what I call Him… the Creator." She sat down on a nearby log.

Luke tilted his head to one side as he sat next to her. "Oy wuz taught tha' all th' gods created everythin'," he said, a look of confusion on his face. "'Ow could only one God create everythin'? Oy though' that gods could onleh 'ave one powah."

BabyCharmander shook her head. "Not the Creator. He has all the powers you can think of, mur… Omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence..."

Luke stared.

"…basically He's all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere."

"WHUH?" Luke exclaimed. He looked around wildly, his eyes wide. "Where's 'e! Is 'e watchin' us!"

"Yep!" BabyCharmander responded with a laugh.

"Buh… buh then…" The Charmeleon's tail drooped. "Oy can't get away with nothin'… Our gods ain't everehwhere, an' so Oy can get away with stuff… 'Cuz they punish real bad…" He suddenly donned a horrified expression. "Does th' Creator punish too?"

The little lizard nodded. "Yeah… The punishment for sin is an eternity in Hell."

The larger lizard froze. His face turned a sickly white and sweat began to drip off of his scales. He slowly slunk off of the log and crawled into a bush, his tail and back legs sticking out in a humorous fashion. "Oy… Oy dun loik th' sound o' this Goi…"

"Oh, don't worry," BabyCharmander assured. "He forgives sins, and you don't need to do anything special. Just to ask Him for forgiveness is enough."

The Charmeleon poked his head out of the bush, his eyes wide with amazement. "Tha's all? Y'mean, y' dun have to sacrifoice or worship or do nothin'!" He crawled out of the bush, smiling. "Neva'moind, Oy think Oy like this Goi…"

BabyCharmander smiled warmly. "That's good, 'cuz He likes you, too."

---

That night, BabyCharmander trotted home with both a large jar filled with hot sauce and a heart filled with hope. She had managed to show Luke the Truth, which meant that there was hope for the others. She couldn't get the grin off of her face, nor could she help prancing happily around her hut.

SisterSquirtle watched the Charmander in confusion. "Chah…?" she questioned.

"You'll understand when you're older, Sis'," BabyCharmander exclaimed, still grinning widely. "Oh mur, this is so great…"

Bartholomew appeared in the room, smiling as well. "Well done, BabyCharmander, well done indeed," he congratulated. "Your job is not yet finished, however."

"Yeah, I know, mur," the Charmander responded, calming down slightly.

"It is not going to be as easy to convert the others," the Mew explained, glancing out the window as some of the villagers returned to their huts. "You yourself cannot show the Truth to all of these villagers alone. That is why the Creator will send you an assistant."

The little lizard blinked. "An assistant…?"

"Yes," the angel replied. "You will find out soon. I am not to tell you when this assistant will come or who this assistant will be, but I will tell you that it will come soon. Until then, you must have patience and be firm in your faith."

BabyCharmander smiled proudly. "'Til the day I die!"


	12. Blazing

Hiya folks! Sorry I'm a bit late with this chapter. Anyway, time to reply to the reviews.

Kameko Nokori: …I LOVE YOU. Thank you SO MUCH for the concrit!

Well, I'll see about fixing the preachyness in the other chapters, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. I will try, though, believe me. And even if I'm not able to, I'll be sure to keep the preachyness down in another Christian fic I'm writing.

And you must remember: Luke is a simple-minded moron who didn't care much about his gods in the first place, which is why his conversion was quick. Scar's was quick as well, but there's no excuse for that, I realize; I'm not too good at writing conversion scenes yet.

As for why BabyCharmander is going out to try to convert others, that's the Christian's Great Commission: "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature."

And you made a good point about Bartholomew's opinion on the gods… I'm not sure how to fix that, though. Help:D;;

And I have no idea what to do for the swearing. Oo;; I seriously cannot type out a swear word unless it's used properly (as in, saying that a bastard is someone who was born before their parents were married). If I have them say something else in place of a swear word, though, it just sounds corny and unnatural. However… I have seen in actual, published literature, whenever a swearword is used, it will come out as "d-n!" instead of the word itself. Maybe I should try that?

And finally… as for the Rage thing, you'll seeeee

Aura24: I always update around the same time. / And I've stated this in other chapters: please don't give me mindless praise.

And now… on with the fic!

------

_You can't deny my power! It's all around you! You will die! You will _die_, do you hear me? You will never release my hold on this village! Not with that angel, not with some assistant, not with anyone! Nothing can help you… nothing can save you… And evil will thrive!_

BabyCharmander jolted awake with a shriek as thunder crashed outside. Her scales were covered in cold sweat, her breathing came in short gasps, and she swore that her heart had jumped into her throat. Taking a deep breath to calm down, the Charmander slinked off of her nest and trotted on all fours towards the window. It was raining outside.

"Guess we won't be able to go outside today, huh, Sis'?" BabyCharmander turned around and gasped to find the second nest empty. "Sis'…?" Among the sound of pouring rain, the Charmander was able to hear the sound of… laughing? She looked outside again to find her sister dancing around in the rain and giggling happily. "_SisterSquirtle!_" she yelled fearfully. "_Get back in here!_"

"Chah…?" SisterSquirtle questioned, stopping her dance. As she did so, the rain stopped pouring quite so hard.

"She is in no danger, BabyCharmander," came Bartholomew's voice. He appeared next to her, his largest pair of wings beating calmly. "You must remember that she is part Squirtle, and can withstand water."

"Oh… right," the Charmander admitted. She called back to her sister. "Never mind, go ahead!"

"Yay!" the Squirtle exclaimed, continuing her dance. The rain picked up again.

"…mur?" BabyCharmander questioned, tilting her head to one side and giving Bartholomew a confused look. "Why's the rain acting weird like that?"

Bartholomew laughed. "Your sister has learned an attack… Rain Dance. Those scientists that experimented on her must have wanted her to learn advanced attacks such as that one."

"Oh… well, in that case she should come back in, 'cuz the Chars'll be mad that they can't go outside today," the lizard stated. "I'll go grab her in a sec." She walked over to one of the tables, picked up the jar of hot sauce, and took a sip.

Bartholomew drifted over to her curiously. "What might that be, young one?" he inquired, giving the Charmander a suspicious look.

BabyCharmander exhaled a thin stream of fire. "Hot sauce. It's like that nasty fireberry juice, only it tastes better…" She gave the angel a sorrowful look. "…It's all right for me to drink this, isn't it? I mean, it isn't bad for me, is it?"

The angelic Pokemon inspected the drink. "No… it is perfectly fine. Where did you get this, though?"

The Charmander took another sip. "From Luke. He gave it to me."

"I see…" the Mew stated. "I would be careful, however. I do not think that all of the things that the villagers here consume are safe."

"What about the animals?" BabyCharmander questioned. "'Cuz they eat uncivilized Pokemon that they call animals, too."

Bartholomew nodded. "Those are fine as well, as long as you are certain that they are uncivilized. You must be careful."

The lizard took one last sip and set the jar down. "Mur…" she muttered. "Bartholomew… I had this dream last night and-"

The Mew cut her off. "I know. Pay it no mind whatsoever. PsyChar is trying to discourage you from bringing the Truth to this village."

BabyCharmander nodded. "Awight… I guess I'll go get SisterSquirtle now. I'll see what I can do with the villagers once this rain clears up." With that, she strode over to the door.

"Good luck, BabyCharmander," Bartholomew whispered before he faded away.

BabyCharmander opened the door and stepped outside, only to receive a burning pain as the rain drops splashed on her scales. She shrieked loudly and stepped back into the doorway, trembling. Her shriek was heard, and a large form charged towards her hut. It was Mark, completely prepared for a fight in the rain: his spear was gripped tightly in his claws; and a makeshift, wooden umbrella was tied by a vine onto his tail, keeping his tail flame from getting put out… and, oddly, his scales were lighter than before. He rushed up to BabyCharmander.

"What's wrong? Someone hurt you?" he questioned firmly.

"N-no…" the Charmander stuttered. "I just stepped out into the rain and the water stung my scales, mur…"

"Aw, izzat all?" The Charmeleon seemed disappointed. "I thought I was gonna get t' fight someone for once."

BabyCharmander shook her head. "Nope… Hey, wait…" She blinked in confusion as she looked up at the lizard. The rain was pouring down on him, yet he didn't seem to be affected at all… "…doesn't the rain hurt you?"

Mark smiled. "Naw! I've gone through special trainin' so th' water dun hurt me!" he explained. "In fact, I could show ya' later."

"Sure!" the Charmander exclaimed. "Maybe 'round mid-day, then? I have some stuff I have to do…"

"Eh…" The Charmeleon's tail twitched. "I dunno if you can get that stuff done today with all th' rain."

"…oh yeah!" BabyCharmander mentally smacked herself in the face. "I forgot! Uh… mur… Mark, can you grab SisterSquirtle for me? She's doing a Rain Dance attack, and if I bring her in and get her to stop dancing then the rain'll clear up."

"Ah…" Mark said with an understanding nod. "Awight, then. Sure, I'll get 'er for ya'." Smiling gently, he strode over to the Squirtle, carefully lifted her up, and carried her back into the hut. Upon noticing that the rain had gotten lighter, he gave a laugh. "Well wha' d'you know? It was a Rain Dance attack that caused th' storm!"

SisterSquirtle whimpered mournfully as she crawled back inside the hut, wishing that she could play outside. "Sorry, Sis', but if you kept up that attack, this place would flood," BabyCharmander explained with a laugh. She turned back to Mark. "So mid-day's fine, then?"

The Charmeleon nodded. "Yup. Gives me time t' finish up somethin'… See ya'." With that, the fire lizard stomped off.

BabyCharmander waited inside her house for the rain to stop, trying to teach SisterSquirtle some words in the mean time. After half an hour or so, the rain finally stopped. Smiling, BabyCharmander walked over to the door to her hut and opened it to step outside--

--only to jump back when she saw John standing in her doorway.

John's eyes were shadowed beneath his helmet, making his expression unreadable. He stared intently down at BabyCharmander, who stood completely still in fear. After a moment he simply said, "Luke is different." With that, he turned around and stomped off towards the temple again, motioning for the Charmander to follow him. With much apprehension, the lizard followed.

When they entered the temple, John faced away from BabyCharmander for a moment, not letting his face be seen. After what seemed like hours of silence, the dragon finally spoke. "You have done a terrible thing, Charmander," he stated.

"H-how so…?" BabyCharmander questioned, praying nervously in her mind.

"Luke has burned his idols and forsaken Dragonite. He has even smashed his helmet. I know that it was you who caused him to do this," he answered.

Feeling a little bolder, the Charmander gave a response. "That was not a terrible thing, John. I just saved him from spending eternity in Hell."

John snorted. "So you think." He turned to face her, lifting up his helmet so that BabyCharmander could see his eyes. Surprisingly, they were not filled with anger. Instead, sorrow filled his eyes. "Do not think me evil, BabyCharmander. I care for my people. Because of what you have done to Luke, he is now guaranteed to be stricken down in a matter of days, as are you. I don't want this to happen anymore. Please leave my people alone."

"Luke is going to be fine, John. In fact…" The lizard frowned, glaring. "He's going to be a lot better off than you if you don't believe me. You're the one who's condemned, not Luke."

The Charizard roared in anger, his tail lashing about. "**WHAT?**" he yelled. "**WHAT HAVE I DONE TO BE CONDEMNED? **I have cared for my people, I have been a good leader, I have shown kindness in every way possible, and I have served my gods with all of my heart!"

"You led your people astray!" BabyCharmander exclaimed.

"I did **NOT** lead my people astray! I would rather die a torturous death then let my people be condemned!"

BabyCharmander shook her head. "You have the right attitude… just not the right ideas…"

John roared so loudly that the entire temple trembled. He stomped forward with one foot and leaned down so that his head was level with the Charmander's. His gaze pierced through her. "You have six days of mercy by the gods, Charmander, but perhaps I will not be so merciful. I will do what it takes to protect my people from the gods' wrath, even if it means throwing you out of the shelter of this village."

"But—"

"Three days, BabyCharmander," John snarled. "Three more days. I will not risk any longer than that. Now _get out_."

"But—"

"**OUT!**"

She didn't need to be told again. BabyCharmander quickly scampered out of the temple and down the street. John sighed, rising again and striding towards the giant Dragonite idol. He bowed before it respectively before praying. "I am sorry to take matters into my own hands, O god, but I must to prevent my people from condemnation. Please do not punish my people because of this fool's teachings."

A false prophet spoke through the Dragonite idol. "We must punish your people, John. You are failing us."

John's eyes widened in horror. "N-no… Please! I can do better!"

"To save your people, kill BabyCharmander. We will give you three days."

"K-kill?" John exclaimed.

"If you love us, it must be done. If not, then we will destroy your people." The false prophets knew that they could not kill someone, but they would not need to, anyway, if John believed them, which he did.

A single tear rolled down John's cheek before he bowed to the floor. "I will do as you wish, my god."

---

BabyCharmander strode mournfully down the streets of Char Town after another failure of a witnessing opportunity. _John isn't ever going to sway… he's too fervent in being a servant of these false prophets to realize his errors… _She stopped suddenly when a Charmeleon passed her, nodding in a friendly greeting.

"H'lo!" the Charmeleon said, smiling warmly as she walked by. There was something odd about her…

"Wha-?" BabyCharmander nearly fell backwards when she realized that the Charmeleon lacked a helmet. "But then… but…" She blinked as a Charizard waved as he passed her, also lacking a helmet. "…HOW!"

"Oy there, BabehChahmand'r!" another Charmeleon greeted. It was Luke, and he seemed to be much happier than he was before.

"Luke, was that you that…?" BabyCharmander exclaimed.

Luke nodded, grinning ear to ear. "Yup! Oy showed these folks 'ere tha' stuff yoo tawt me!" The chameleon Pokemon stretched out his arms and hugged the Charmander tightly. "Thank ya' BabehChahmand'r!"

BabyCharmander squirmed in Luke's grasp, her face turning blue. "No… problem… mur…" she choked. "Now… lemme… go…"

"Oh, roit, sorreh," Luke apologized, releasing the little lizard from his grasp.

The Charmander drew in a deep breath as she was released. "Thanks…" she gasped as the color returned to her face. "That's great what you did, Luke!"

"Oy, it wuz' nuthin'," he responded, standing up proudly and grinning. "Oy got yoo somethin', BabehChahmand'r. Follow me!" With that, the Charmeleon darted down the street.

"I'm coming!" BabyCharmander called, rushing after him.

Luke led her to his hut and opened the door. "Yoo furst," he offered, holding out a paw. The Charmander entered, wincing slightly. The place was a mess: ashes and burnt wood everywhere, cracked jars sitting atop a filthy desk, and leaves scattered all over the floor. On the table, however, were a few strange objects that BabyCharmander did not recognize right off the bat. As she approached the table, she identified them as dead Sunkerns. Luke stood next to her. "Would yoo loik to 'ave lunch wif' me?"

"Er…" BabyCharmander's tail twitched slightly. "I-I've never had meat before…"

"_Wuh?" _Luke exclaimed. "Neva' 'ad meat b'fore? Wut's wrong wif' yoo!"

"Nothing's wrong with me… I've just never had meat before! I didn't know that I was allowed to eat animals until today…" the Charmander explained, ducking her head down slightly. "Sorry."

"Tha's all roit," the Charmeleon said, patting BabyCharmander on the back—a little too strongly. The Charmander crashed to the floor. "Sunkern're moi favorite." He helped BabyCharmander up, picked up one of the sunflower-seed Pokemon, and stuffed it in his mouth.

BabyCharmander hesitantly picked up one. "Were they civilized or wild…?"

Luke mumbled something with his mouth full and swallowed. "…so Oy know tha' they were woild."

"Er, all right, mur…" The Grass Pokemon was relatively small, and she could stuff it in her mouth with minor difficulty. It tasted good, but it would have tasted better if it had been cooked. She swallowed the food and explained this to Luke.

The Charmeleon smacked himself in the face. "OY! Oy'm sorreh! Oy fergot t' cook 'em! 'Ere, 'old on." He took a deep breath and spat out a flame onto the rest of the Sunkern. By the time he released the flame, they were burnt charcoal black. He looked nervously back at BabyCharmander. "Er, d'you loik yer' meat well-dun?"

The lizard turned away in disgust. "Mur… I-I think I'll pass."

Luke shrugged. "Owel. All th' more fer' me!" He picked up all of them at once and shoved them into his mouth. Though it was difficult to tell what he said when he talked with his mouth full, BabyCharmander swore that she heard him say, "Mmmm, not bad!"

She shook her head. Luke was nice and all… but he was just a _bit _strange… especially with his extremely heavy, slurred accent, and his strange attraction to her.

Her train of thought was broken when she saw the door open. A Charizard with a Dragonite helmet marched in. It certainly wasn't John—it was much too small. The dragon marched over to Luke, who seemed unaware of its presence. The large Pokemon smacked the Charmeleon on the back, causing charred Sunkern to spew everywhere.

"Heya' Luke," the Charizard greeted.

Luke coughed and snorted, wiping slobber off of his mouth. He looked up at the Charizard in confusion. "'Oo're yoo?"

"Aw c'mon, Luke, dun ya' recognize yer' own best friend?" the dragon questioned with a grin.

"…_Mahk!_" the Charmeleon exclaimed.

"_Mark?_" BabyCharmander repeated. "But you—"

"Evolved!" Mark proclaimed. "That's what I was busy with t'day. I was near evolution, in case y' couldn't tell from my light scale color, an' I just evolved today. Nice, eh?"

"Tha's _sweet!_" Luke shouted. "Yer' all… all… big n' strawng!"

Mark laughed. "Yup. That's why I got my Dragonite helmet. Anyway, I promised BabyCharmander that I'd train her n'stuff t'day, so I'll see you later Luke, awight?"

"Awight."

"C'mon then, BabyCharmander," Mark said, motioning towards the door. BabyCharmander walked out, the Charizard following. The two Chars walked out of the town and headed towards the forest. "So how've you been?"

BabyCharmander shrugged. "Fine, I suppose… You?"

"I'm awight, BabyCha-aaaaaah darn it, do you have a nickname?" Mark questioned, somewhat irritated. "Your name's stinkin' long. No offence or anything."

The Charmander blinked. "Mur… uh… no, not really. I never thought about it."

"How 'bout I just call you BC fer' short then, eh?" the Charizard questioned, smiling.

BabyCharmander shrugged. "Sure, it sounds fine to me."

"Then BC it is." Mark nodded, looking back at the forest. "I must warn you… you're not going to like this training. It's really painful, but it does increase the strength in your scales, which is pretty useful."

"I'll do whatever it takes. I want to be prepared for dangers like rain or water attacks," BabyCharmander stated bravely.

"Awight… if you say so."

It wasn't long before they entered the forest. It was similar to the Viridian forest, only much larger and darker. "This's Ember Forest," Mark explained. "It sits at th' foot of Ember Mountain, an inactive volcano." As they walked deeper into the forest, BabyCharmander noticed some forms watching them. She started to speak, but her companion interrupted. "They're just other Pokemon. They won't bother us. Most of th' Pokemon that reside here're Grass Pokemon."

"Mur…" BabyCharmander muttered, looking at the Pokemon. "Are they always afraid of you guys?"

"Yup. We do hunt them, y'know," Mark answered. "Th' wild ones, anyway." He led the Charmander over to a semi-large stream and stopped when he reached the edge of it. "Y'sure you wanna do this? 'Cuz we can turn back, y'know."

The little lizard shook her head. "Nope. I'll do it."

The Charizard nodded. "Awight, then. Step into th' stream."

"Murur…" The Fire Pokemon looked nervously into the water, raising her foot. Slowly she brought her foot down into the stream, but as soon as her scales made contact with the water she brought her foot back up, hissing in pain.

"It's gonna hurt right now, but it won't if ya' withstand it long enough."

BabyCharmander nodded, gritting her teeth as she slowly dipped her foot into the water. She whimpered in pain as the liquid burned her scales, sending steam into the air.

"Keep goin'. It'll take longer if ya' take longer t' get in there."

Praying silently in her mind, the Charmander took a deep breath and stepped into the stream on all fours. The pain was almost blinding, causing her to shriek and leap back to shore. She shivered visibly, the scales on her feet and paws red-hot.

"Try again," Mark stated, stepping into the water. It came up to his waist. "I can hold ya' down if ya' can't help jumping out."

BabyCharmander prayed again, more fervently this time, as she stepped into the water. She started to jump out again, but Mark's paws caught her and held her down. He shoved her underwater, but made sure that her tail flame was above the surface. Every few seconds she stuck her head up to take a gasp of air, and Mark pushed it back down. At one point when she stuck her head back up, the Charizard noticed that tears were rolling down her face. The Charmander then shouted, "_Mur! _It _burn! _ It hurts so much helpmehelpme…"

"Keep still. Th' pain'll be gone soon. If ya' give up now, you'll never become resistant t' water," Mark stated as he continued to hold BabyCharmander down. "Dun give up…"

BabyCharmander held her position, her entire body trembling in pain. She and Mark stayed there for an hour, and slowly the pain began to reside. Moments later the Charmander began to relax as the water became less and less painful. Mark released his grip.

"So, izzat better?" he questioned, smiling.

The little lizard nodded. "Mur-hur! The pain's gone!" She hopped around in the stream, splashing water everywhere. "I'm water-resistant! Thank you so much!"

She could hear someone chuckling and clapping slowly, but it wasn't Mark. BabyCharmander spun around to find a giant Scyther standing there, clapping his claws together slowly. A scar ran down his right eye.

"Scar!" she exclaimed, hopping out of the water and trotting towards the Scyther. "What're you doing here? I thought you were fighting PsyChar's army!"

"I was," Scar explained, "but someone told me to come back over here and help you while my herd continued to fight. They said that you needed assistance of some sort…"

The Charmander's eyes widened. "The assistant! Bartholomew said that you'd be coming, mur!" She hugged the Scyther's leg.

Mark stomped out of the water, eyeing Scar suspiciously. "An' just who're you?"

The mantis smiled at the Charizard. "An old friend." He looked back down at BabyCharmander. "So BabyCharmander, what is it that you need assistance with?"

Not wanting to talk about it out loud in front of Mark, BabyCharmander motioned for the Scyther to bend down. Once he did so, she whispered in his ear. Scar nodded.

"Ah… so that's it. I suppose we'll start with this one here, eh?" He motioned to Mark.

"What? Start what with me?" the Charizard questioned, confused.

Scar just smirked and strode up to the dragon-like Pokemon. "Sir, would you like a Friend? 'Cuz I know One that's eager to meet you."

------

Three days later, BabyCharmander looked happily out her window, sipping some hot sauce. Standing beside her was Scar, who was smiling as well. His eyes widened for a moment, and he nudged the Charmander with his claw. She turned around to see Bartholomew hovering there.

"Mur! Hi Bartholomew!" BabyCharmander exclaimed. "So what d'you think? Not one person I can see out there's wearing a helmet! Is that a revival or what?"

Bartholomew chuckled. "No, a revival is something different. But it is quite an accomplishment, and I am very proud of you," he turned to Scar, "and you as well. You were very faithful in leaving the battle right away."

Scar fluttered his wings. "It was nothin'…"

"Your job is not yet done, however." The Mew's face darkened.

"What? Did we miss someone?" BabyCharmander questioned. She set the hot sauce on a nearby table. "I can't think of anyone we—"

She was interrupted by a loud shriek. Both she and Scar looked out the window and turned back to look at Bartholomew, but he wasn't there. SisterSquirtle walked up to the two in confusion.

"Wut… wrong?" she questioned, speaking some of the words that her older sister had taught her.

"I-I dunno, mur," BabyCharmander stated, looking back out the window. "Let's find out…" With that, she darted out the door. Scar, lacking hands, picked up SisterSquirtle by her shell in his jaws and followed his friend.

Not too far from the hut, a large crowd was gathered. BabyCharmander shoved through the crowd to see what the matter was, and froze once she reached the center. A female Charmeleon lay on the ground, dead. Their tail flame was put out, and water surrounded her.

"Wh-what h-happened?" the little lizard stuttered, staring wide-eyed at the horrific sight.

"She bumped 'er head on this tree an' some water fell off th' branches an' fell on 'er tail…" one of the Chars explained mournfully.

There were minor tremors as John stomped through the crowd. His eyes fell upon the dead Charmeleon. Upon noting that the Charmeleon didn't wear a helmet, he muttered quietly, "Stricken dead." He looked up suddenly, eyes dark. He scanned through the crowd and soon spotted BabyCharmander. A growl escaped his throat. "_You._ This is _your _doing."

"Mur?" BabyCharmander exclaimed. "M-me? I didn't kill-"

"That's not what I'm talking about," John snarled. "You've caused her to forsake our gods. That is why she was stricken dead."

"Stricken dead? B-but—"

"Don't argue with me!" the Charizard snapped. "I saw it rain just three days ago! This was Gyrados's doing! He was angered by your presence and sent a rain. Then when you caused this innocent Charmeleon to forsake the gods, they were angered and struck her dead!"

"Gyrados didn' send th' rain, sir," Mark stated, stepping forward. He didn't wear a helmet.

"Mark!" John exclaimed. "Where is your helmet? Don't tell me you've forsaken Dragonite, just as you received your Dragonite helmet!"

"I dun worship Dragonite anymore," Mark explained, crossing his arms. "Scar an' BC showed me the Truth. An' it wasn't the non-existent 'gods' that brought th' rain. BC's sister brought it through a Rain Dance attack. I saw it m'self."

"Y-you speak lies!" John yelled. "How could you do this? Now you are going to be condemned too!" He looked throughout the crowd, and his eyes widened when he found out that none of them wore helmets. He glared at BabyCharmander once more. "_YOU_ DID THIS!" he roared. "NOW ALL OF MY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SUFFER BECAUSE OF _YOUR_ FOOLISHNESS! IN THE NAME OF THE GODS, I WILL KILL YOU!"

The Charmander shrieked as John leaped forward, and jumped back as the Charizard landed on the ground in a thunderous earthquake. The crowd quickly backed up, knowing that none of them stood a chance against their leader. BabyCharmander turned and ran, praying desperately in her mind. _HELP ME! Bartholomew, Creator, someone, anyone, HELP!_

John ran as fast as he could, gaining up on the Charmander. He took a deep breath and spat out a large fireball which exploded on the ground, barely missing the lizard. He roared again, getting closer.

"Oywut'rewegunnadoIdunwant'ert'die…" Luke mumbled, gnawing his claws.

"W-we'll do… somethin'…" Mark stammered. "We can't fight… John's too strong. Wha'd'you think, Scar?" He turned to look at the Scyther, only to find that he was on his knees, eyes closed. Understanding what the mantis was doing, Mark did the same, getting to his knees, closing his eyes, and folding his paws.

Another fireball from John sent BabyCharmander flying forward. She landed on her back and was about to get up when she saw John's intimidating form glaring down at her. He held one of his paws out, and the Charmander was sure that he was going to slash at her when she saw a small, black flame form in his hand. "No…" she gasped. The Charizard's eyes started to glow an unnatural red color as the flame grew bigger. Once the flame had grown to a huge size, John pulled it back, ready to throw it at BabyCharmander.

Not knowing what else to do, the little lizard screamed to the sky, "CREATOR, HELP ME!"

John threw the flame with a mighty roar. BabyCharmander watched as it soared closer and closer to her. Sweat poured down her face as it came just inches away from her face when suddenly it stopped, and bounced backwards.

"What is this?" John snarled, ducking as the flame soared over his head. He roared with anger again and was about to stomp on the Charmander when he froze completely. His face grew wan, and his eyes widened as he stared at something that wasn't apparent to everyone else. His jaw gaped and his legs trembled.

Mark noticed this silence and looked up. His eyes widened in surprise, and he nudged Scar. "Look! What's he doin'?"

Scar looked up and stared intently at John for a moment. He turned back to Mark and smiled. "Someone's paying him a visit."

"Y-you mean…?"

The mantis nodded.

Everyone watched John for a moment. The Charizard sank to his knees and bowed his head, his eyes full of sorrow. "I was the foolish one…" he muttered. He suddenly stood up, grabbed his helmet, and tossed it to the ground, smashing it. He then looked at BabyCharmander, tears rolling down his face. "I… I am truly sorry. Please forgive me."

BabyCharmander smiled, sitting up. "Mur. I forgive you, as the Creator did me," she stated, smiling.

------

There was a celebration that night. The wooden idols were burned in a bonfire, and the temple's idols were destroyed. John had gone hunting and brought back a giant Venisaur for everyone to feast on. People were playing music and dancing around the streets of Char Town. BabyCharmander chatted with Scar, Mark, and Luke as the celebrations went on.

"So tell me," BabyCharmander said, leaning against a tree. "Who was the shortest guy in the Bible times?"

"That's easy!" Scar exclaimed. "Zaccheus!"

"Wrong!" the Charmander stated. "Nehemiah!'

"What?" Mark questioned. "I thought ya' told us that Zaccheus was really short!"

"Tha's roit!" Luke agreed. "Woi's Nehe-wutev'r th's shortest?"

"'Cuz he was only knee-height! Get it? Knee-high-miah? Murhurhur!"

The group burst into laughter. BabyCharmander paused when she felt something touch her shoulder. She turned around to see Bartholomew. "Oh, hi there! _Now_ are we done?"

"For the moment," Bartholomew said with a smile. "If you want to see something truly humorous, take a look at this." He waved his tail in front of the Charmander's face, giving her a special sight. She was able to see the false prophets again. This time, however, they were fleeing the village fearfully.

"Murhurhur! Cowards!" she snickered.

"Bai-bai bad guys!" SisterSquirtle chirped beside her, waving her paw. BabyCharmander looked at the Squirtle, then back at Bartholomew, who just laughed.

She laughed, too.


	13. Waning

Bwaha, I'm not late! :D I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. I'd reply to the reviews, but there aren't any. Mur well. Here's the next chapter

------

After nearly a year of training, fighting, learning, running, teaching, and witnessing, BabyCharmander was finally able to relax. Bartholomew had told her that the Creator, for now, required nothing of her other than to teach the other Chars what he had taught her. Teaching SisterSquirtle before had prepared her for this a little bit, which helped. She would spend an hour every day gathering the Chars in the village into the church—formerly the temple—and teaching them. After that, she would hang out with Mark, Luke, and Scar; hunt; play with SisterSquirtle; and occasionally train. Bartholomew had told her to not let her fighting skills get rusty, as she would never know when she might need to use them.

Scar had decided to stay in Char Town until his herd returned to him. Once they did, he would continue his traveling with them. As much as he liked the Chars, his heart was with his herd. While he was in the village, though, he decided to help out by taking a few guard shifts every day and sparring with a few of the fighters there to help them keep their skills sharp, as well as his own. Plus, it would help to get rid of his fear of Fire Pokemon.

Luke was still head-over-heels for BabyCharmander, and would constantly try to impress her and show his affections for her. In some cases he would sneak up and tackle-hug her, or even try to kiss her. Fortunately Mark would usually be there to keep the Charmeleon from doing anything really stupid. Luke would also occasionally guard the town.

Mark, aside from defending BabyCharmander from Luke, would spend his day guarding the town and hunting. Occasionally he would train with the other warriors alongside Scar, and would sometimes spar with the Scyther himself.

SisterSquirtle would learn new words every day, and was eventually starting to speak in comprehendible sentences. She also learned many advanced Water-element attacks, as well as a few Fire-element attacks.

Overall, everything seemed be going well… but, as everyone knows, peace doesn't last long.

Scar stood guard in front of Char Town's gates, his only healthy eye scanning the area carefully. He noticed BabyCharmander approaching him, and glanced back at her. "Hello, BabyCharmander. I enjoyed your lesson today," he said with a smile.

"Something Bartholomew taught me a long time ago," the Charmander responded. "Credit should go to him, mur. So what's up? Anything happening?"

The Scyther shook his head, looking back into the distance. "Nothing so far. Just the occasional Stantler and Ponyta." He continued to stare into the distance, his expression longing.

The Charmander looked up at her friend with sympathy. "You miss your herd, don't you?"

Scar shot an angry look at her. "Yes, but I don't need sympathy," he growled. "Don't worry about me, all right?"

BabyCharmander ducked her head down slightly. "Sorry…" she apologized. "Mururur…"

Scar sighed. "It's all right… But I don't like people to worry about me or show sympathy to me. I don't need it," he said sternly.

"You shouldn't be so hard, Scar. And you shouldn't worry, either. I'm sure your herd is all right," the little lizard soothed.

Scar smiled. "I'm sure you're right. I just… wish I could know for sure," he said. "I almost want to go out there to see if they're all right, but I know I have to stay here and protect this village."

"The Chars have been protecting it for years, Scar," BabyCharmander stated. "I'm sure they're fine on their own."

Scar put a claw to his mouth in thought. "You know, you're right. Inform the guards that I'll be leaving to head back to the battle."

"Can do… an' I'll come with you too, mur! I don't have anything else to do," the Charmander said happily.

The Scyther smiled. "All right, then! Let's give those demons a heck of a fight, eh?"

BabyCharmander nodded. "Mur-hur!"

After explaining to John what was happening, the little lizard returned to her friend. She looked up at him with an encouraging smile. "I got it all taken care of, Scar. Mark, Luke, and a few other guards'll take your place, and John will take over my teaching. They said that they'll take care of SisterSquirtle while we're gone, too," she explained. "Now let's go. We'll find your herd in no time!"

"More like a few days," Scar grumbled. "But close enough." He grinned. "I bet you can't catch me!" The mantis darted out into the distance, becoming nothing but a blur.

"I betcha' I can!" BabyCharmander used her Agility technique to speed up, and darted after her friend. As she ran, a familiar form flew alongside her.

"You have forgotten something, BabyCharmander," Bartholomew said sternly.

"No I haven't, mur!" the Charmander responded. "I have everything taken care of! I told John where Scar and I were going. He thought that it was fine."

"But what does the Creator think about this?" the Mew questioned.

"I'm sure He approves, too," the little lizard returned. "After all, I am doing this for a noble cause, mur. I'm going to help Scar and his herd fight some demons!"

Bartholomew frowned, obviously displeased. "You did not pray about it, though," the angel pointed out.

"I don't need to!" BabyCharmander exclaimed. "I know that the Creator would approve for such a thing! I don't need any confirmation!"

"Yes, you do! Never do something like this without praying about it first!" Bartholomew growled.

"I told you that I don't need to, Bartholomew! I'm perfectly fine!" BabyCharmander snarled. Her tail lashed behind her in irritation.

"What about those demons? How do you expect to fight them?" Bartholomew questioned firmly.

"I've grown in strength. I can fight them myself," the Charmander responded coolly.

The angel's tail whipped violently. "Listen to what you are saying, Charmander! You can not depend on your own strength! I have told you many times that your own strength will fail you!"

"That was a long time ago, though," BabyCharmander stated. "It won't fail me this time."

"BabyCharmander, listen to me! You and Scar must turn around this instant!" Bartholomew yelled.

The Fire Pokemon ignored this, and used another Agility to boost her speed. She blasted forward, past her guardian angel, and up to Scar.

"BabyCharmander, listen! _Listen to me!_" Bartholomew called. "I am not saying that you are weak, I am saying that you are depending on your strength far too much! You cannot go here! I do not want you to get hurt! _Listen!_"

The wind whipping around BabyCharmander drowned out Bartholomew's cries. She kept on going, leaving Bartholomew standing in the middle of the open field. Neither his eyes, his face, nor any of his movement betrayed any emotion. Once Scar and BabyCharmander were out of sight, the angel flew away, fading into the sky.

"What took ya'?" Scar questioned as he darted across the land, glancing at BabyCharmander out of the corner of his eye.

"Nothing… just sorting something out," BabyCharmander responded half-truthfully.

Scar nodded in response, and said nothing after that. It was going to be a long trip—possibly three days long. It only took BabyCharmander a shorter time when she was running from the demons because she had used her Agility ability to its maximum power. If both of them used Agility, it would wear them out by the time they got to the battle. Three days was a long time for running, though, and it would seem longer unless someone said something. After what seemed like an eternity, BabyCharmander finally spoke up.

"Scar's not your real name, is it?" she questioned.

Scar looked over at the Charmander. "Hm?"

"Scar. That can't be your real name… You said that you got a scar when you were young. You couldn't have been named that at birth, though," the little lizard stated.

The giant mantis sighed. "No… it's not my real name," he growled. "I changed my name after the incident. My real name is Nathaniel."

"Nathaniel, mur?" BabyCharmander repeated. "I like that name. Why don't I just call you—"

"No," Scar interrupted. "It's just Scar. Nathaniel doesn't strike fear into the hearts of others, especially not demons." He turned away, not wanting to pursue the subject.

BabyCharmander was silent for a moment. After a while she stated, "Neither does BabyCharmander, but that doesn't mean demons that demons don't fear me." After all, she had made those demons run away a few weeks ago…

The Scyther snorted. "I don't care. My name is just Scar now, got it?"

The Charmander nodded, and remained silent. It was clear that her friend wasn't keen on having a conversation at the moment… He was probably too worried about his herd, she figured.

The two continued running silently throughout the day. BabyCharmander didn't say anything aside from an occasional "mur" of discomfort when she accidentally stepped on a rock or sharp stick, which did not emit a response from Scar. While she understood that he was worried and wanted to focus on finding his herd, she had hoped that he would be a bit more talkative during their trip.

As the sun started to sink down into the horizon, BabyCharmander was beginning to pant. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink since they left. She looked at her friend with weary eyes before asking, "Can we rest for a bit?"

Scar looked over at the Charmander for a moment before nodding decisively. "Fine. But we can't rest for too long," he stated as he slowed his run. BabyCharmander began to slow as well, and the two finally came to a stop at a nearby tree. Scar wandered around impatiently as his friend inspected some of the fallen tree branches before munching on them—she did eat certain plants aside from berries as most herbivores would. Unfortunately there were no fireberry bushes around to satisfy her thirst, but she could go several days without drinking.

After a quick meal, BabyCharmander nodded to Scar. "All right… we can keep going, I guess, mur," she explained. The giant mantis Pokemon nodded, and both of them began to prepare their Agility. The two exchanged confirmation glances before darting off once more. This became pretty much routine: They ran for a few hours with little talk, stopped to eat and rest, and then continued running again. They only slept when it became too dark to continue traveling, but once it was light enough they resumed their travels.

It took about four days until they started to find traces of the battle. The two slowed down to a walk to observe their surroundings. There were burnt down trees, holes in the ground, large claw prints, and trails of blood. BabyCharmander noted that one of the trails of blood went in a u-turn along with some signs of a struggle. Obviously these demons meant to fight to the death… They followed the trails of blood and the footprints a ways. They were a surprising length away from the actual battle site… It looked as though some of the warriors were either chasing or being chased, and then returning back to the battle site.

BabyCharmander stared at the footprints that were heading away from the battle sight, noticing that most of them were clearly Scyther footprints. She looked up at Scar, who seemed to be ignoring the remnants of the fight. "…Scar," she addressed, "it looks like some of your herd tried to run away from—"

"It wasn't them!" Scar snapped at the Charmander, shooting a glare. "My herd wouldn't back away… not even from a demon… It… it must have been a Scyther demon or something… not my herd… not my herd…" He looked away from his friend, staring straight ahead as he walked towards the battle sight.

The little lizard sighed. She knew that it was unlikely that all of those footprints belonged to one Scyther demon, and she knew that Scar knew that as well. Scar just didn't want to believe it.

BabyCharmander wasn't paying attention to the path ahead of her as she walked, and soon found herself bumping into Scar, who had stopped abruptly. "Mur?" BabyCharmander questioned. She poked her head out from behind the Scyther. "What's—" She stopped short. The ground ahead of them was completely blood soaked. Several Scythers—or rather, what was left of them—were scattered all across the area. Many of the corpses were either severely burnt or ripped apart nearly beyond recognition.

Scar's eyes were wide as he stared at the scene. "W-we lost…" he gasped, his body beginning to tremor. He started to sink down to the ground, but suddenly stood up straight and roared into the sky, "**WE LOST!**"

BabyCharmander looked fearfully up at her friend, who was trebling in absolute rage. "Scar, I—"

"**HOW COULD WE _LOSE?_**" the Scyther screamed, rushing around the area. "**WE WERE THE STRONGEST HERD IN THE ENTIRE LAND! HOW COULD WE _LOSE?_**" He swung his claw straight through one of the charred trees as he said the last word. He froze suddenly and slowly turned his head as the sound of fangs ripping through flesh was heard. A giant Raticate demon was gnawing on the remains of one of the Scythers. Scar roared again, heading towards the demon with both of his claws out.

"_No, Scar!" _BabyCharmander yelled, rushing after her friend.

The Raticate demon looked up, blood dripping from its muzzle. It smirked upon seeing Scar run up to him, its red eyes giving of an evil glint. Suddenly it disappeared, causing the enraged Scyther to swing his claws at nothing.

Scar held his position, growling. "A Normal type can't teleport. What happened." His eyes were wide and unfocused, twitching. "I'm going to kill it. I'll kill it. I'll kill it…"

BabyCharmander knew that a Normal type couldn't teleport as well, unless… "Scar, _get out of the way!_"

The Raticate appeared behind Scar. It had run so fast that it had become invisible to their eyes. It prepared to attack, but BabyCharmander leapt high into the air at it, claws outstretched. The demon smirked, and darted out of the way at the last second as the Charmander swung her claws…

…and as Scar turned his head.

The next thing BabyCharmander knew, her paw was covered in blood; Scar was running around frantically, screaming; and the demon was nowhere in sight. BabyCharmander stared at her paw, panting, and cursing herself in her thoughts. After a moment she rose to her feet and rushed up to the panicked Scyther. "Murur… Scar! _Scar!_ Hold still! _Scar!_"

"It _burns!_" Scar screeched as he ran. "_Keep away from me!_"

"_Scar! _Stop, please! _Stop!_" The Charmander leapt at her friend and pounced onto his back, catching the Scyther off guard and causing him to tumble to the ground. BabyCharmander held him there for a moment as Scar took in several deep breaths. She then got off and rushed in front of him to observe his face. The Scyther had one of his claws covering his head, however. "Scar… Scar, look at me…" the Fire Pokemon commanded.

Scar reluctantly lifted his claw. The sight caused BabyCharmander to gasp, holding her paws to her mouth.

The Scyther's left eye had turned completely red due to the immense amount of blood pouring out of it. Three claw marks tore down over the bleeding eye.

BabyCharmander's claw marks.

"Where are you…?" Scar hissed.

Tears began to roll down the Charmander's face when she realized what she had done. "I-I'm right in front of you…" she answered quietly.

"I can't see…" The Scyther began to tremble. "What did you do to me… What did you **_do_** to me?" he demanded. "_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"_

"I-I didn't mean to do it!" BabyCharmander sobbed. History had repeated itself… Because of Scar's old friend's carelessness, he had lost vision in one eye. Now, because of her carelessness, he had lost his vision completely. "I'm… I'm sorry…"

Scar rose to his feet, holding his claws up. "Do you know what happened to my friend when they caused me to go blind in one eye?" he snarled.

"N-no…" BabyCharmander answered timidly, taking several steps back.

"I killed them. And guess what…? **_HISTORY IS ABOUT TO REPEAT ISELF ONCE MORE!_**" With that, the giant Scyther swung both his claws down at BabyCharmander.

The Charmander screamed, quickly rushing out of the way. She used Agility over and over again, trying to out-speed the enraged Scyther. She prayed in her mind for help, and, thankfully, her prayer was answered quickly.

A roar was heard in the distance as a Charizard flew towards them. It landed on the ground and quickly whipped its tail around Scar's body and claws. The Scyther thrashed in the dragon's grip, screeching.

"Mark!" BabyCharmander exclaimed, rushing up to her friend. "What—"

"Somethin' kept telling me that you were in trouble an' I couldn't get th' thought outta' my head, so I came here as fast as I could. What happened?" Mark questioned, tightening his grip on Scar to keep him from squirming out of his grasp.

The little lizard broke into sobs. "It wasn't my fault I was just trying to protect him from the demon I didn't mean to hurt him I didn't mean to muuuuuuururururururrrrr!" she cried.

Mark winced at the Charmander's hysterics. It was certainly an awkward situation… He had a killer Scyther tied up in his tail and a panicked Charmander sobbing in front of him. "C-come on, BC," he said. "Hop on my back an' we'll get back to Char Town an' sort this out, awight?"

BabyCharmander nodded, wiping the tears from her face. She felt very abashed for how she had acted, and crawled onto Mark's back before he could see her bright red face. The Charizard took off with a great deal of difficulty due to BabyCharmander and Scar's combined weight.

"LET ME GO!" Scar roared as they began to fly off. "I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!"

"Quiet, you!" Mark growled, tightening his grip even more. "I dun wanna have to hurt you, Scar… Just calm down… I'll have th' doctors in Char Town examine you… Just stay calm…"

Scar soon stopped struggling, and kept both of his eyes shut tight. If he could see, though, he would be glaring at BabyCharmander. The little lizard knew this, and looked away from her injured friend.

---

Scar was announced to be completely, incurably blind. The Scyther remained bitter to BabyCharmander, even though she had begged for his forgiveness many times. She had lost a friend, and there was nothing she could do to bring him back.

BabyCharmander lay curled up in her nest. Mark, Luke, John, and SisterSquirtle had tried to cheer her up, but she simply shooed them away and lied that she would be fine. As she lay there, she felt a familiar presence in the room. "You don't have to say anything, Bartholomew," she said quietly. "I already know. I should have listened to you."

Bartholomew flew up to her slowly, placing his paw on your shoulder. "I do not want you to ignore me again, BabyCharmander. You have seen the cost of your disobedience. Do you really think it worth it to ignore me? Do you really think it worth it to rely on your own strength?"

BabyCharmander shook her head. "No… I don't, mur… I-I won't do it again…"

The Mew nodded. "Good. If you continue to listen to me, you will not have to learn things the hard way… and…" He hesitated.

The Charmander blinked. That was odd… Bartholomew didn't hesitate very often. She turned to look at her guardian angel, who was staring at the sky out the window. "…what is it?" she questioned.

Bartholomew was silent for a moment, his paws behind his back. He finally spoke up, but did not look at his pupil. "…BabyCharmander, the time has come for me to leave you."

"_What_?" BabyCharmander exclaimed, sitting up. "You don't mean…?"

"I have taught you all that you need to know… and the Creator has called me to return to my home," Bartholomew stated. "You must remember what I have taught you…"

"No! Don't leave!" BabyCharmander shouted, scampering up to the angelic Mew. "You can't leave… you can't! Don't leave me all alone… mur…"

Bartholomew turned to face her. "You will never be alone, BabyCharmander. The Creator will always be with… you…" His voice began to falter, and he bowed his head.

"You don't want to go… do you?" the little lizard questioned cautiously.

"Charmander, I always want to do what my Master calls me to do. But… I will miss you deeply." He looked up, and for the first time BabyCharmander saw sorrow in his eyes. "For my sake, please remember everything I taught you… You will need it… Keep your skills and abilities sharp, too… I can not say any more…"

BabyCharmander hugged her friend. Bartholomew had been with her since the day of her hatching… He had protected her when she was in danger, he had taught her everything she knew, he had trained her… He was more than a friend. He was like a parent to her… like a father.

"I'll miss you, Bartholomew…" she said, tears running down her face.

The angel let himself land on the floor and hugged the Charmander with all six of his wings. They stayed in that position for a long while. Finally Bartholomew backed away, giving her a sorrowful look. It was like a father and a daughter being torn apart… But Bartholomew could do nothing to prevent it.

"My Creator calls… Farewell…"

Bartholomew floated back into the air and turned, flying out the window. BabyCharmander rushed out the door to watch him ascend into the sky.

"…bye…"


	14. Burning Brighter

Hmph. I you people aren't gonna review, I'm not gonna bother putting author's notes at the beginning of the story. /

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Even while surrounded by friends, BabyCharmander felt lonely. Bartholomew's leaving had depressed her greatly. She had never realized how much of an impact he had made on her life until now. His comforting presence was no longer with her as she went through the day. He was never there to give her advice if she didn't know what to do. He was never there to talk to her. He was never there to laugh or mourn with her.

He was never there.

Her friends had watched her dive down into depression with sorrow. They, however, did not know that it was because of Bartholomew, and thought that it was simply because Scar refused to forgive her. They begged Scar to give her another chance, but he simply ignored them. Unsure of what else to do, they decided to confront her.

Mark was the first to try to do so. He tapped on her door lightly with his claws and smiled at her when she answered the door. "Hey there, BC," he said. "D'you mind if I come in for a sec?"

BabyCharmander shook her head. "No, go ahead, mur," she responded, lacking her usual enthusiasm. She then walked off towards the table pouring two cups of hot sauce. As Mark entered the room, he waved to SisterSquirtle, who waved back happily.

"Hi Mark!" she piped, hopping to her feet.

The Charizard smiled. "Hi SS," he returned. "Why dun ya' go play outside for a bit?"

The Squirtle nodded. "Awight!" she exclaimed, scampering happily out the door.

BabyCharmander watched her sister leave before looking back at Mark. "What is it?" she questioned, handing the Charizard a cup. She sat down on a nearby chair and beckoned for her friend to do the same. "You're not here to talk about Ba-… Scar, are you?"

Mark frowned as he carefully sat down on the chair, making sure not to press his entire body weight onto it. "Actually, I am," he answered.

"Mur…" BabyCharmander wrapped her tail around herself, staring at a small rock on the floor. If anything, she would have liked to talk about Bartholomew, since that was a bigger loss to her than Scar was. But it wasn't like she didn't wish Scar was still her friend… "It's no use… Scar won't forgive me… A-and it's all my fault…" It wasn't the whole reason for her depression, but it was part of it.

"How's it your fault?" Mark questioned. "I dunno entirely what happened… ya' never told me." He took a sip of his hot sauce as he waited for his friend's explanation.

The Charmander abandoned her study of the rock to glance back up at the Charizard. "You remember how Scar and I went off to see how the battle was doing, mur?" After an affirmative nod from the dragon, she continued. "Well, we went off to the area where the battle was s'posed to be taking place… and… th-there were dead Scythers everywhere and… murur…"

Mark swished his tail lightly, hoping that the lizard wouldn't start crying. "It's awight… But how did you end up blinding Scar?" He took another sip, this time exhaling a thin stream of fire afterwards.

"We s-saw a R-Raticate demon eating one of the corpses…" BabyCharmander gave a shiver at the memory. "Scar was really m-mad…" She began to speak faster as the memories flooded her. "He attacked the demon, but it disappeared, and I saw it reappear behind Scar and I tried to warn him but he didn't hear me so I went to attack the demon but it jumped away at the last second and Scar turned around and…"

"…oh," Mark said quietly. "Well… it's not like ya' did it on purpose."

"It's still my fault…" the Charmander muttered, swishing her tail. "I wasn't paying attention, mur… It's my fault… Mururrur…"

"Quit blamin' yourself! It ain't your fault!" Mark shouted, slamming his tail behind him. There was a sudden cracking sound, and the Charizard's eyes widened. A few seconds later the chair he was sitting on collapsed, causing the dragon to fall flat on the floor. "Aw… scrapmeat."

BabyCharmander laughed quietly. "You should be more careful, mur," she suggested, sitting up. The humorous scene had lightened her mood a bit.

"Sorry 'bout that…" Mark apologized, standing up. He was blushing slightly. "That… that can happen when yer' a Charizard… I'll get ya' a new chair soon… Er… I'd better go now. See ya'."

BabyCharmander smiled, sitting up. "See ya'."

Mark exited the hut, carrying what was left of the chair with him. As soon as he left, however, another Charizard poked his head through the door. "Greetings, BabyCharmander," John said, smiling warmly.

"Hi, John," the Charmander responded. "You can come in, mur, but I dun have another chair…"

"I heard the noise," John stated with a faint chuckle. "Mark still has some things to learn about his new Charizard form. He is still young, but he'll get used to it."

"He wasn't much of a help to me, mur…" The little lizard frowned as she poured some hot sauce into Mark's empty cup and handed the cup over to John as he walked up to her.

The Charizard accepted the cup and took a grateful sip. "Thank you." He looked back over towards the door where Mark had exited. "You'll have to forgive him… Mark is kind, but helping friends through emotional situations is awkward for him. I might be able to help you, though…"

BabyCharmander sighed, exhaling a small flame as she did so. "I don't want to be helped right now, mur… I don't want to talk about Scar…" It was the truth. She didn't want people to bug her about the demon incident anymore… Quite frankly, she wanted to talk about Bartholomew, but she couldn't tell anyone about him... She wasn't sure if Bartholomew wanted people other than herself, Scar, and SisterSquirtle to know about him. Not like it would matter, though, since he wasn't coming back. Still, if she did talk about him, people would likely think her insane. "Mururur…" She looked away from the Charizard.

"Why not?" John questioned. "Do you not want to admit that it was your fault?"

"No, mur, that's not it, it's—" She paused, looking back up at John. "You think it was my fault?"

The dragon nodded, his face darkening slightly. "I knew that you had forgotten something when you said that you were going off with Scar to check on the battle. You forgot to pray. I thought you would remember later, which is why I said nothing. I was wrong there. But do not blame this on me. If you had prayed in the first place, perhaps none of this would have happened."

The Charmander swished her tail lightly. She knew it was her fault, and she knew of this already. She didn't need someone to accuse her. "I know," she said, half-growling.

"I don't know who taught you what you know, but you should remember what they taught you as well. Surely they taught you to not only look, but pray before you leap," John suggested.

BabyCharmander did growl then. This was just a reiteration of what Bartholomew had said. She didn't need to hear it again. "I know," she growled again, her eyes narrowing slightly.

The Charizard crossed his arms. "Then why did this happen?"

"_I don't need to hear what's already been said!_" the Charmander yelled suddenly.

John seemed surprised. "What's already been said? Who told you this before?" he questioned.

"I…" She paused, looking away. She couldn't tell him… "J-just go away…"

The flame Pokemon set his cup down, eyeing his pre-evolution suspiciously. "All right…" he said carefully as he exited the house.

BabyCharmander slinked down from her chair and crawled over to her nest, where she curled up. "All this crud going on…" she muttered. "Why can't folks just leave me alone, mur?" Though she still wanted to talk about Bartholomew… who could she talk to about it that would believe her?

There was a knock on the already-open door, followed by a familiar, irritating voice. "'Oy there, Luff!"

BabyCharmander moaned and wrapped her tail around herself. Luke was at the bottom of the list of people she would want to talk to right now. "Hi, Luke," she grumbled in irritation.

"'Ow're you?" the Charmeleon questioned as he entered the house. He noticed the two cups of hot sauce sitting at the table. "Aw, 'ow thoughtful! Oy was feelin' koinda thursty…" He marched over to the table and guzzled down both cups, belching a fireball that flew out the window.

The Charmander winced. "Er… not too well at the moment, mur," she answered. "So if you could—"

"Glad t' 'ear!" Luke exclaimed, obviously not hearing what his friend was saying. "Oy'm feelin' great too, Luff."

"I'm not your 'Luff'," BabyCharmander growled, sitting up.

"Sure ya' are, y'just dun wanna admit it, d'ya?" The Charmeleon reached down to hug the Charmander, but a long tail struck him across the face before he could do so. "OW! Wuzzat for?"

"You know you're not s'posed to do that, mur," BabyCharmander reminded. "And both Mark and John gave me permission to defend myself if you try to hug or kiss me."

"Oh, roit, roit," Luke stated, rubbing his snout. "C'n Oy at least cheer y'up?"

"No, y—" An idea suddenly hit the Charmander. "Actually… Luke, would you believe me if I said something weird?"

Luke grinned. "Oy'd b'lieve anythin' tha' came outta' your purdy lil' mouth!" he confirmed.

"Well… that works. There's something I kinda wanna talk to you about…" BabyCharmander explained. "You see… I haven't been depressed just 'cuz of Scar and stuff, mur."

"You 'aven't?" Luke questioned, giving her a confused look.

"No… it's mainly because… well…" She looked into Luke's eyes to make sure he was paying attention. "Don't tell anyone else this, mur, but… I have…er… had a guardian angel named Bartholomew. He taught me all I know, and was kinda like a parent to me…"

The Charmeleon blinked. "Wut 'appened t' 'im?" he inquired. He obviously believed her, which was good to know.

"He…" BabyCharmander glanced away for a moment. "He had to leave…"

"Aw… Tha's sad," Luke stated, frowning. He started to raise his paws to hug her, but miraculously resisted the urge.

"So… I've been kinda upset about that," she finished, looking back at her friend.

Luke put a claw to his mouth in thought, glancing up at the ceiling. "Hm… Well, Oy dun think this Barfalawhoever goi would be very 'appy either," he stated.

"Huh…?" BabyCharmander questioned, giving her evolution a confused look. "What do you mean, murur?"

"Oy mean tha' 'e wouldn't want ya' t' be sad!" Luke exclaimed, looking back at his pre-evolution. "No one loiks it when their friend's sad! So 'e would want ya' t' be 'appy! Jus' loik Oy do!"

She had never thought of that… Luke was right, Bartholomew wouldn't want her to be depressed about his leaving. "Hey… you're right!" she exclaimed. "I shouldn't be so sad about this, mur!"

"There y'go!" Luke shouted, smiling.

BabyCharmander laughed. She couldn't believe that of all people, Luke was the one that could cheer her up! "Sorry 'bout whacking you in the face earlier," she apologized. "D'you wanna go hunting?"

The Charmeleon beamed. "Sure!"

With that, the two rushed out the door and over to the nearby forest. Even though she was still sad about Scar, she felt a hundred times happier after what Luke had said about Bartholomew. And somehow, she knew that Bartholomew, wherever he was, was happy, too.


	15. Burning Dimly

SORRY! I completely forgot about this fic. Ox; The chapter was already edited yesterday, but I had recently uploaded another fic, and I forgot about this one! XD; Sorry. Here it is. First, to reply to the… review. (My gosh, folks. I spend years going through and rewriting this fic and rewriting and rewriting and NO ONE REVIEWS. oO; Eh well, the fic's far from perfect.)

Aura24: Thanks.

And now… on with the fic.

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Weeks passed. Scar still remained bitter towards BabyCharmander, though the little lizard was still as kind to him as possible.

Since word had spread about the Raticate demon, the Pokemon of Char Town trained harder than ever.

Months passed. Scar started to learn to deal with his disability, and in turn was becoming better at combat because of it.

BabyCharmander had taught all that she could remember, and thus the lessons were shortened to once a week. A Pokemon had ventured out into human territory and returned with a large amount of books that BabyCharmander was able to identify as Bibles. They were distributed one to each family, so that the families could study on their own. John studied the most, however, and BabyCharmander allowed him to take her place on giving lessons each week.

No news of demons had been heard, but John urged everyone to continue their training.

Years passed. While BabyCharmander had not regained Scar's friendship, the Scyther had at least been a bit nicer to her.

John had continued with his lessons, and even BabyCharmander learned a thing or two from him even after Bartholomew's teaching.

The training continued, despite the lack of demon attacks. Eventually the demons and PsyChar were forgotten by many, and the training simply became a ritual. Everyone had increased in strength, especially BabyCharmander.

SisterSquirtle had not only learned to use both advanced Water and Fire techniques, but also learned to talk relatively well. She had also taken up a number of odd behaviors, which her older sister had assumed were a result of whatever the scientists had done to her.

Scar's other senses had improved immensely: he could detect someone walking behind him no matter how lightly they walked.

Mark had become an excellent fighter; one of the best in the village. Luke, however, neglected his training and was as annoying as ever. He still believed that he was destined to be BabyCharmander's mate, and was persistent in trying to win her over.

It was now nearly fourteen years later, and Char Town was preparing to celebrate BabyCharmander's fourteenth hatchday.

"_Happy It's-Almost-Your-Hatchday-Day!_" shouted a high-pitched voice.

BabyCharmander jolted upright, panting heavily. Her vision cleared to see a grinning, sapphire-eyed Squirtle. "Oh… g'mornin', Sis', mur," she mumbled. "Wut're you sayin'?" Over the years, the Charmander had taken up the accent that the other Chars bar John had been using.

"It's gonna be your hatchday t'morrow!" SisterSquirtle exclaimed, bouncing around her older sibling's nest. "Aren'cha excited?"

"Not as much's you are, mur…" BabyCharmander said with a slight snicker. "C'mon, let's get some breakfast."

"Awight!" The Squirtle quickly hurried over to the table where she poured some glasses of hot sauce and got out some cooked Oddish that BabyCharmander had hunted last night. After a short prayer, the two siblings quickly scarfed down their meal and darted outside. As soon as the older stepped out of the door, she was tackled by a large Charmeleon.

"'Appy 'atchday, BabyChahmand'r!" Luke exclaimed.

"It's not 'er hatchday yet, Thunderhead!" SisterSquirtle shouted, putting her paws on her hips.

"Y'mean Dunderhead, Sis'," BabyCharmander corrected as she shoved Luke off of her.

"…I knew that!" SisterSquirtle gave an embarrassed smile.

"Oy, sorreh!" Luke apologized, grinning sheepishly. "Still, 'appy day-b'fore-yer-'atchday day!"

"I know, I know," BabyCharmander stated, rolling her eyes. "Y'know yer s'posed to hunt for some food for th' party tomorrow, right?"

"Oy am?" the Charmeleon questioned, his eyes widening. "_Scrapmeat! _Oy mean… uh… Oy'll get t' tha' roit away!" With that, the large lizard darted out of town.

"Murhurhur…" the Charmander snickered.

SisterSquirtle watched Luke leave. "Lemme guess… Ya' did that ta' get ridda' him?"

"Well, yeah, mur… That, and he's a pretty good hunter," BabyCharmander admitted. "Anyway, I'm gonna' see what Mark's up to. Go ahead n' play; I'll be back later." That being said, the Charmander trotted on all fours through the town. As she approached the town entrance, she gave a mur of surprise when she heard a voice say, "Hello, BabyCharmander."

"Mur!" She leapt up to her feet and looked up to see a giant Scyther guarding the town entrance. He had his back turned towards her, and was staring blankly out into the horizon. "Oh, hi Scar! What's goin' on, mur?"

"No signs of anything out here thus far aside from the hunters," Scar stated, not bothering to turn around. BabyCharmander could hear him just fine, and the Scyther couldn't see her, so there was no need to. "Mark's out hunting, if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh, mur'kay, thanks!" BabyCharmander exclaimed, walking around the Scyther. She paused and looked over her shoulder for a moment. "Oh, er, r'you gonna' participate in th' feast t'morrow?"

Much to her disappointment, the mantis shook his head. "No. Someone has to guard the village while the other guards are partying," he growled.

"Aw c'mon, mur! There hasn't been any attack in forever! It'll only be for one night… C'mon, join th' feast with us, mur!" the Charmander urged.

"You know what happened the last time you said something like that!" the Scyther snarled, staring in the lizard's direction with his blank eyes. The Charmander remained silent; she couldn't argue with that. "I'm staying here. Now go on and find Mark so I can listen for intruders." He turned back towards the horizon, listening intently.

Heaving a sigh, BabyCharmander got back on all fours and darted towards the forest. Once there, she found several Chars darting between trees, catching various Grass Pokemon. A Lotad squeaked as it ran in front of her and was pursued by a small, young Charmander. BabyCharmander called out to it, "Dun catch that one, Thomas. Lotads're part Water!"

The little lizard continued her trek through the forest, keeping an eye out for her Charizard friend. As she got deeper into the forest, she heard a low growling sound. She froze, carefully turning her head to the source of the sound. She saw that it was coming from behind a patch of trees, and slowly crept over to investigate. She poked her head out from behind one of the trees and gasped.

In a small clearing, Mark was standing on all fours, growling threateningly. Just ahead of him was a Meganium, also growling. The two continued growling, staring into each other's eyes. After what seemed like hours of this, Mark finally leapt at his competitor, who swung its tail at the Charizard. Mark barely dodged the tail, and sank his claws into the dinosaur-like Pokemon's side. The Meganium roared in agony, grabbed the Charizard with two long vines, and started to constrict.

Mark snarled, jerking forward and seizing the Meganium's neck in his jaws. The wild Pokemon continued to squeeze the Charizard, and BabyCharmander could see that his body was turning pale from the lack of blood flow. Mark held the dinosaur's neck firmly, though, and eventually its grip on him started to loosen. Finally the vines fell limply to the ground, and the Meganium gave a feeble roar as it fell to the ground, dead.

BabyCharmander rushed up to Mark as the Charizard stood there, panting heavily. "Mark!" she called. "R'you all right?"

"Sorta'…" Mark answered. "Can't feel my legs right now… But other than that… I'm fine." He smiled at the Charmander. "Y'think this'll be enough for th' feast t'morrow?"

"Mur, naw. You'll need 'bout three more a'those an' you'll be set for Luke's share of th' meal," the Charmander answered jokingly. The two laughed at this.

The color began to return to Mark's body, and the Charizard strode over to his catch. "Wanna help me drag this thing back t' th' village?" he inquired, grabbing one of the Meganium's front paws.

"Sure," BabyCharmander returned, grabbing the other paw. Slowly the two dragged the giant beast out of the clearing and through the forest. As they did so, they saw a familiar Charmeleon approaching them, cheeks stuffed.

"Aw c'mon, Luke, we dun have time for this…" Mark growled, seeming annoyed.

Luke shook his head and pointed to his overstuffed mouth. He then held up five claws.

"_Five?_," BabyCharmander questioned incredulously.

The Charmeleon nodded, smiling.

"That's gross," the little lizard stated, giving her friend an odd look.

Luke seemed disappointed and started to swallow the contents of his mouth. He froze, however, his eyes bulging and his face turning blue.

Mark sighed, letting go of the Meganium and striding up to the Charmeleon. He smacked him in the back, causing the red lizard to cough up five, yellow, saliva-covered lumps. "That's what ya' get for tryin' t' eat five Sunkerns at once," the Charizard said with a sigh. "Now do somethin' useful an' help us with this Meganium."

"Okay, okay… oy…" Luke marched over to BabyCharmander and grabbed the paw that she was holding. "Oy'll 'elp ya' 'ere, Luff," he stated with a wink. He turned to examine the creature and frowned disapprovingly. "'EY! There's no' enuff 'ere fer' me!" he exclaimed sincerely.

Mark and BabyCharmander exchanged surprised glances before they burst into laughter. Luke gave the two confused looks, but shrugged and helped them drag the giant Pokemon back to the village. Once this was accomplished, the three had fun the rest of the day by decorating the town, training, and generally having a good time.

That night, BabyCharmander, Luke, Mark, and Scar stood by the entrance of town to watch the sun go down. This soon got boring, though, and the group resorted to just talking about tomorrow's events.

"Oy'm lookin' forward t' eatin' tha' Meganium," Luke said excitedly as he backed up against the wooden wall of Char Town and took a seat there.

"I can't wait t' fight in th' tournament we scheduled t'morrow," Mark stated, grinning. "I've been ready for forever!"

"I'm lookin' forward to just bein' fourteen, mur," BabyCharmander said, smiling faintly as she stared into the horizon.

"Hey BC…" Mark started, glancing over at his friend. "I can't believe I never asked ya' this b'fore, but… why'd'you say 'mur' all the time?"

"Mur?" the Charmander questioned, looking at her second evolution. "Y'know… I dun think I ever thought about that one, mur." She put a paw to her mouth in thought as she tried to remember where she had come up with the word. "I… I dun remember. Why?'

The Charizard shrugged. "Iduno. It's always been somethin' I always liked about ya'…" He smiled warmly, placing a paw on her shoulder.

"'Ey, 'ey, _'ey!_" Luke yelled, leaping in front of Mark. "She's _moy _girl! Naw' yours, _moin_!"

"Hey, I told you that she ain't anybody's!" the dragon growled, glaring at the red lizard.

"You're roit, she ain't anybody's but moin!" the fire Pokemon shouted.

"_Shut up, both of you!_" Scar snarled. "I hear something!" He turned his head and listened intently.

"Mur?" BabyCharmander strode up to where the Scyther was standing and turned her head as well, straining her ears to hear whatever the bug was hearing. "I dun hear anythin', mur…"

"I do," Scar hissed. Everyone remained silent as he continued to listen, but finally the Scyther shook his head. "It's gone… I can't hear it anymore."

"Well, is' late. Oy'm goin' t' bed…" Luke said with a yawn. With that, the Charmeleon plodded back into town and towards his hut.

"I s'pose I will too, mur," BabyCharmander stated with a shrug. She started to leave, but stopped when she saw that Mark wasn't following to go to his own hut. "You're stayin', Mark?"

The Charizard nodded. "I'm gonna' stay with Scar, just in case what he heard really was somethin'…"

"Awight… G'night Mark n' Scar." That being said, the Charmander trotted back into town and into her hut, where she found SisterSquirtle asleep in one of the nests. The little lizard curled up in her own nest, soon drifting off to sleep.

---

_Once a normal_

_Never again;_

_Possessed by the Dark One, _

_The Torturer of Men._

_Once a kind one, _

_Not anymore;_

_A servant of Evil,_

_The Villain of all lore._

_Once a hero,_

_Now not at all;_

_The greatest of power_

_He will finally call._

_Beware of the evil_

_That lurks in the day._

_Once he befriends you_

_Forever he will stay._

_Living cannot kill him,_

_Only dead will survive._

_Nothing can save you,_

_AND EVIL WILL—_

BabyCharmander bolted upright upon hearing a piercing roar echo through the town. Breathing quickly, she darted out of the hut to see what was going on. Mark was frantically running on all fours through the streets, eyes wide, and mouth open as he roared over and over again.

"Mark!" the Charmander yelled, running as fast as she could towards her friend. "Mark! _Mark! _What's going on?" She had never seen her friend act this panicked in her life, and this worried her greatly. What could possibly have scared the Charizard like this? "_Mark! _ Stop! Please! Murur…"

But the Charizard didn't stop, and continued to roar as he ran through the town. By the time he reached the other side, his voice was weak, though he had succeeded in waking up every single villager. He turned to face BabyCharmander. "Run…" he croaked weakly. "Run… they're comin'… get outta' here…"

"Mururur… Who? Who's coming?" she questioned, even though she had a good idea of what it was.

"Demons… they're comin'… An' I know they want you… I dunno how, I just know…" Mark wheezed.

"**_All villagers, prepare to attack!_**" boomed a voice. John flew through the sky and landed in the middle of the town, causing a small tremor. "You heard me! **_All villagers prepare to attack!_** Those who are unable to fight, head towards Mount Ember! Everyone else, gather at the front entrance, _now!_" The giant dragon rushed over to BabyCharmander, expression serious. "But you… You're part Kecleon, are you not?"

BabyCharmander nodded, sweat starting to pour down her scales, her face pale with shock at what was happening. "Y-yes…" she answered, starting to shiver.

"Good. Turn invisible and hide. Help those if you can without revealing yourself. Now go," John ordered.

"But-" The Charmander began to protest, but John wouldn't have it.

"_GO!_"

BabyCharmander whimpered loudly and willed herself to turn invisible. Everything except her tail flame remained unseen. John nodded in approval and rushed towards the front of the town, Mark following as quickly as possible. Villagers rushed past her, some of them heading to the front of the town while other, smaller villagers rushing to the back entrance towards Mount Ember. After they all passed, there was a silence. During this silence, BabyCharmander could hear the demon's chant growing louder… and louder… and louder… and _louder…_

All at once the chanting stopped. There was a foreboding silence, and a split second later it sounded as though all Hell had just broken loose: All manner screams, roars, snarls, screeches, and every other imaginable sound erupted all around the village as the town was swarmed with demonic Pokemon of every size. They spilled through the towns in an endless wave, smashing through the walls, huts, and trees.

BabyCharmander screamed, throwing her arms over her head in an attempt to block out the noise, which did little to help. She ducked down in the middle of the street, invisible, as chaos ensued around her. Several demons barely missed crushing her beneath their massive feet, and the little Charmander had to be constantly running to avoid being hit.

The warrior Chars were fighting as hard as they possibly could, biting, clawing, slashing, doing anything they possibly could to somehow do damage to the demons. None of their attacks were effective, however. Even the mightiest Fire Blasts were simply sloughed off by the demonic Pokemon.

BabyCharmander wondered frantically how the Chars were supposed to defeat these demons, when realization hit her like a rock in the head. She remembered what Bartholomew had said many years ago… Very few mortals can kill demons… But demons can easily kill other demons…

In an instant, she allowed herself to become visible. A Rhydon demon turned his attention to her and gave an earth-shaking roar. It charged towards her, leaving craters in its wake. BabyCharmander ran as swiftly as possible away from the demon, and ran directly in front of a Fearow demon. She jumped out of the way at the last minute, causing the demonic Rhydon to trample the demon bird to death.

Grinning widely, the Charmander became invisible again, ran up to an Onix demon, and made herself visible once more. She caused this demon to run over a giant Raticate, turned invisible again, and continued to cause the demons to kill each other.

As she did this, however, she soon realized that it wasn't helping the battle much at all. Chars were still being killed left and right, as the demons still outnumbered them a hundred to one. There was just too many of them… A sickening feeling washed over her as she thought of her little sister fighting a demon in vain, and being killed… She thought of Mark, Luke, John, and Scar, fighting pointlessly to the death…

She had to do something… and fast.

Invisibly darting through the village-turned-battlefield, she soon found a purple-faced SisterSquirtle spraying a jet of water from her mouth onto a Ninetails demon, which wasn't taking any damage. She ran up to her sister, whipped her tail around her shell, and started to drag her away.

"_Wah? _What's goin' on? _Help me!_" the Squirtle screamed as she squirmed in BabyCharmander's grasp.

The lizard leaned closer to her sibling and said as loudly as she could without being heard by anyone else. "It's just me! You have to get out of here! Run to Ember Mountain! We can't win! You have to run!"

The Squirtle seemed shocked at what her sister was saying, but didn't argue. She weaved around the multiple battles going on around her and made her way as quickly as she could to Ember Mountain.

BabyCharmander wasted no time in rushing off to find the others. In the midst of the battle, she could hear someone screeching, "_FEAST ON MY HERD'S CORPSES, WILL YOU? WELL I'LL FEAST ON YOUR'S WHEN THIS IS OVER!_" Knowing very well who this was, the little lizard darted over to the shouting's source.

"Scar!" she yelled as the giant Scyther came into view. He was fighting a Scisor demon, and Mark was fighting a Sandslash demon nearby. "_Stop! _Scar, you have to listen to me! Stop fighting! You can't win!"

"What are you talking about?" Scar screamed, swiping his claws rapidly and ineffectively at a demon. "I can't run away! I'm no coward!"

"But you can't win against demons! You have to run!"

Scar growled, and continued to fight. BabyCharmander was worried that he wasn't listening to her, when suddenly the mantis burst forward as a blur, running towards Mount Ember. Satisfied with his response, the little lizard rushed up to Mark. "Mark, stop fighting! You can't win!"

Mark cast a fearful glance in her direction and narrowly avoided a slash to his throat. "I kinda' realized that!" he exclaimed, lashing his tail pointlessly at the demon. "What do I do?"

"Run to the safe spot, I'll meet you there when I find Luke and John!"

"Dun bother with Luke, he already ran!" Mark shouted as he started to run away.

Normally BabyCharmander would have grumbled about Luke being too lazy or too scared to fight, but there was no time now. She had to find John as fast as she could… Praying silently in her mind, she continued to rush invisibly through the battlefield, but came to a screeching halt.

In a strange clearing in the midst of the all the fighting was PsyChar. He was floating in the air, glaring at a familiar giant Charizard, arms crossed.

"Where is she?" PsyChar snarled. "Where is the Charmander?"

"I told you, I don't know…" John snarled, eyes narrowing. He was covered in all manner of cuts and bruises, causing his orange scales to look blood red. "I don't know where she is…"

"You liar!" PsyChar yelled. He flew forward, slicing the Charizard in the belly. John roared in pain as even more blood flowed from his wounds. "Now tell me, where is the !#$ing Charmander?"

"I don't know, and if I did I would never tell you!" John roared weakly.

"You wouldn't, eh?" the demonic Charmander questioned, amused. "_Crobat!_" In a moment, a Crobat demon flew forward, carrying a small, young Charmander in its jaws. BabyCharmander recognized him as Thomas, the Char that she had yelled at yesterday for trying to catch a Lotad.

"What? Leave Thomas out of this!" John yelled. "He has nothing to do with this!"

"I'm afraid you're wrong there, my friend…" PsyChar said casually. He snapped his claw, and the Crobat demon bit down on Thomas, starting to drain his blood. The little Charmander screamed in pain and squirmed in the bat's grasp.

"_No!_" John yelled.

"He has everything to do with the situation…" The black Charmander smirked sadistically as he watched the little lizard suffer for a while, then snapped his fingers again. The Crobat stopped, and Thomas lay there limply, scales snow white, and eyes wide. "Now, tell me where BabyCharmander is… or I'll let Crobat finish his meal."

"I don't know…" John said sincerely. "I honestly don't know… Please let him go… kill me, but spare him… please…"

PsyChar saw that the Charizard was being sincere, and sighed. "Well, he's useless to us now. Go ahead." He snapped his claws, and the Crobat continued to drain the blood of the tiny Charmander.

"What?" John exclaimed, looking up with wide eyes. "_NO!_"

It was too late, however. The Crobat dropped the shriveled corpse of the young Charmander to the ground. BabyCharmander's stomach gave a lurch, but she managed to hold the contents of her stomach down. She couldn't attract attention to herself… then PsyChar would have her.

"You...!" John jumped to his feet and rushed at PsyChar. The demon, however, simply held out his claws and made a swiping motion at John's neck.

BabyCharmander turned away as she heard blood splatter all around her. She then heard something dropping to the ground, a silence, and then a loud tremor as something else dropped to the ground.

Instantly she started to run, almost uncontrollably. She felt as though her legs were moving mechanically, but she didn't care. She just needed to get out of there. She didn't think, she didn't open her eyes, and she hardly even breathed as she darted through the town. Several times she stumbled over a fallen body, but didn't let that get in her way. She continued running, not registering the thought that she had just tripped over a corpse. Finally she found herself running through an empty field, Mount Ember straight ahead. After what seemed like hours, she finally reached the mountain, and collapsed to the ground, turning visible, and panting quickly and heavily.

Something picked her up around her belly and squeezed her tightly.

"Oy'm s'glad you're okay, BabyChahmand'r," Luke said as tears streamed down his face. "Oy wus so worried…"

BabyCharmander simply squirmed out of his grasp, still breathing heavily. "Scar… Mark… sis'… okay…?" she managed to gasp.

"Yeh… They're all 'ere…" Luke carefully picked up the Charmander again, and carried her up the mountain and into a cave that was lit by tail flames. Chars young and old alike stood in the cave, watching as Luke carried her in. "She's all roit…" He set her down on the floor, where she laid silently.

Mark quickly rushed up to her. "BC! You're awight! What happened t' you?" he exclaimed, kneeling down to get a better look at her. "Y-you're covered in blood…"

BabyCharmander looked up at the Charizard, eyes wide. "John… he…" She gasped for breath. Saying this would mean that it was true… but she couldn't deny it… "…died…"

"_What?_" Mark yelled, jumping back. "B-but…"

"I knew I should have stayed at the battle," came a hissing voice. Scar stepped into view. "I probably could've saved John from those—" He called the demons something that would be inappropriate to put into writing.

"You heard what BC said, though!" Mark shouted. "We can't beat the demons!"

"_SCREW_ what BabyCharmander said!" Scar screeched. "I could have slaughtered those demons if I had just stayed!"

"You saw what was happening! We weren't doing any damage to them, and BC noticed this too, didn't you?"

But BabyCharmander wasn't paying attention. She couldn't hear a word that her friends were saying, as she seemed to have gone temporarily deaf. Everything was spinning faster and faster, and she felt as though she weren't even controlling her body anymore. In fact, she felt as though she were simply observing herself from a distance. She could hear her own voice in her mind, only doubled, and arguing with itself. She didn't know what was going on, nor did she really care… She couldn't think…

The arguing slowly began to stop, and everyone stared at BabyCharmander. A small flame was burning around her, and was steadily growing on the rocky ground. The lizard didn't seem to notice it, as she was lying limply on the ground, eyes closed. Suddenly the flame grew at an immensely fast rate, and BabyCharmander was lifted upwards by the force of it, her tail and head blowing upwards, and her feet and paws standing in midair. Slowly her orange scales began to turn a pallid white, and her yellow scales began to darken into an orange color, and soon turned blood-red. Slowly the flames subsided, causing the little lizard to fall limply to the ground, her scales now unnatural colors.

Finally BabyCharmander rose to her feet and opened her eyes. Everyone around her gasped, for her pupils had turned bright red, while the rest of her eyes were snow white.

She was now a mix of light and darkness.

BabyCharmander had become RageBabyCharmander.


	16. Putting Out the Flame

Hiya folks! BabyCharmander here with the latest chapter! Though I won't be replying to reviews anymore—not on the fic chapters themselves, anyway—since someone pointed out to me that it's not allowed anymore and that there's a reply function on reviews anyway. :D; Whoops. Eh well. Don't expect a reply to a review, though, if you just say "good chapter write more" or whatever. Not much I can say to that. /

Anyway… on with the fic!

------

The Pokemon stood there, trembling. Everything was so confusing… Why was everyone staring at her? Who were they? Who was she?

Soon her memories started to come back to her… She was BabyCharmander, but she had changed… She had changed into RageBabyCharmander. But… why?

"What's going on?" Scar hissed. "What happened to her?" No one could answer, however, since no one else knew what was going on, either…

RageBabyCharmander spun around, her red and white eyes widening at the Scyther. Scar…

"You remember him…" hissed a voice in her head. "He killed your mother and siblings… He tried to kill you, too… You tried to help him, once, and he tried to kill you again…"

Without thinking about whom the voice belonged to or why it was speaking to her, the lizard nodded, agreeing with him. Yes… Scar had done many terrible things to her. Why had she even considered being his friend before? Heck, why was she letting him live after what he had done?

"That's right… you hate him, don't you?" the voice questioned. "You really wish he was dead, don't you?"

RageBabyCharmander's eyes narrowed as she slowly got down on all fours. She sprang at Scar, but was suddenly thrown backwards.

"No!" shouted another voice. "No, you don't hate him! He was the first person you witnessed to! He saved you from all those demons! He was your friend for many years! You don't want to kill him!"

The pale-scaled lizard shook her head. That's right… even if Scar did do those horrible things before, why would she want to kill him? He had done those things long ago, and he was her friend now. That was rather stupid, trying to kill a friend…

"What are you talking about?" the first voice roared. It wasn't addressed to RageBabyCharmander; rather, it was addressed to the second voice… "Scar should be dead for what he did!"

"You are wrong! It is not our job to determine who is to live and who is to die!"

Now the Charmander was simply confused. Who was she to side with? Both of them had such good points… She shook her head furiously, wishing that both of them would just shut up.

"B-BabehChahmand'r?" Luke questioned, taking a cautious step towards her.

RageBabyCharmander turned her gaze toward the Charmeleon, eyes widening again.

"Look, it's that filthy Charmeleon, Luke!" the first voice hissed happily. "He was always irritating you with all his kissing and hugging… Not to mention his disgusting habits…"

The Charmander nodded again, her eyes starting to narrow. Her lips curled into a snarl as she started to stalk towards him on all fours.

"B-BabehChahmand'r?" the Charmeleon questioned again, starting to back away fearfully. "I-it's me, y-yer friend, Luke! D-dun you r-memb'r me…?"

"…plus, he's got that annoying accent."

RageBabyCharmander always hated that accent, and started to wonder if she could rip his vocal chords out… In one leap, the Charmander was able to pounce on Luke. She locked her jaw onto his shoulder, scratching at him frantically with her back feet. The Charmeleon cried out in pain, trying to throw his pre-evolution off of him.

Mark was momentarily stunned by what his Charmander friend had just done, but once the shock had vanished he swung his tail forward, hitting RageBabyCharmander and causing her to fly through the air a short distance before she hit the wall of the cave. Luke sank to the ground, holding his shoulder and staring at the Charmander, tears forming in his eyes. He started to speak, but Mark quickly covered the Charmeleon's mouth. He turned to everyone else, placing a claw on his lips to signal for everyone to remain silent. Perhaps if no one spoke, RageBabyCharmander wouldn't lash out at anybody…

"What were you doing?" the second voice cried as RageBabyCharmander slowly rose, rubbing her back. "Luke is your friend! Sure he's not perfect, but he's still your friend! You've talked with him! You've laughed with him! You've helped him, and he's helped you! Why would you do such a thing?"

The little lizard whimpered feebly. What had she been thinking? Whoever it was that was talking to her, they were right… She shouldn't be attacking her friend… She looked across the cave at Luke, giving him an apologetic look.

"No, no, _no!_" the first voice screeched. "Why would you even _seem _sorry for someone as annoying as him?"

"Because he's her friend, that's why!" the second voice retorted.

The two voices started arguing once more. RageBabyCharmander covered her head in her arms, wishing that they would shut up… She didn't know who to believe… Everything was so confusing… She squirmed around, lashing her tail about and scratching at the ground beneath her with her back feet, yet they continued to argue. _Shut up…_ she thought, hoping that the voices could hear her. _Shut up, shut up, shut up…_ They wouldn't stop…

"SHUT **UP!**"

She had screamed it that time, causing everyone around her to give a jump of surprise. She didn't care, though; she just wanted the voices to stop arguing… With a cry of frustration, the little lizard got onto all fours and started charging out of the cave and down the mountain.

"_No!_" someone cried from within the cave. She didn't try to look back; she didn't care at this point.

RageBabyCharmander bolted down mountain. Her foot caught a rock, and she rolled the rest of the short distance down to the dirt ground. She felt a few cuts open and a few bruises form on her belly and her back, but just got up again and kept running. Soon she felt the dirt make a gradual transfer to grass beneath her, and lifted her head to see where she was going. She saw Char Town in the distance, fire flaring up from its burning huts.

"PsyChar did this… yes… PsyChar did this…" the first voice hissed, sounding excited. "He has done nothing but wrong to you… He betrayed you, tried to kill you, he gave you that scar on your face, he hurt you, he killed your friends…"

RageBabyCharmander agreed once more. PsyChar was a terrible person… he deserved death more than anyone else in the world… she would have to kill him… A determined, slightly evil grin split across her face, showing fangs. She started to charge forward again.

"No, stop! You can't! It's too dangerous! He'll kill you!" the second voice shouted.

Oddly, the Charmander didn't listen to it this time. That argument was weak… She felt much more powerful in this form… much more powerful… Surely she could kill him…

"You see? She doesn't agree with you this time!" The voice cackled. "I think we'll get along nicely, yes… We certainly will!"

"_No!_" the second voice yelled, sounding fainter this time. "You can't agree with him… you can't! Keep away…" It was sounding fainter and more distant by the second.

"It's too late," the first voice stated calmly. "She's with me, now."

The second voice continued to argue, but kept growing fainter and fainter until it was nothing more than a mere whisper.

Once the voice was gone, RageBabyCharmander screeched to a halt, screaming in pain. She stood on all fours, squinting her eyes shut, and lashing her tail about. Her white scales were starting to turn pink, then red. The scales on underside were turning from red, to brick, to black. Her claws grew longer and more defined, and black spikes burst out of her spine, causing blood to pour down her back. Her fangs were growing longer, and two of them were so long that they stretched out of the corners of her mouth. As her tail lashed about, the flame on its tip started to turn into a deep black color. Finally, her eyes opened, revealing themselves to be pure black.

DeathBabyCharmander stood there, gasping in pain. Finally she rose, examining herself. Her claws were as sharp as daggers. Her scales had grown thicker and tougher. The flame on her tail had grown so hot that it could probably melt boulders with ease, like an advanced Charizard's fire…

"Yes… I can kill PsyChar now…" she hissed. The voice that slithered out of her mouth was like a mix of her own and the first voice that she had heard earlier. "He is no match for my power… I will destroy him, his demons, and anyone who gets in my way!" She threw back her head in laughter, and got down on all fours once more to charge towards Char Town.

The first thing she noticed as she drew nearer to the village was the smell of blood. She faintly wondered whether she should take a break once this was over to feast on the carcasses. It didn't occur to her how disturbing her thirst for blood was, especially for the blood of her own kind…

As she reached the city, she found many corpses of Chars and demonic Pokemon alike, though much more of the former than the latter. She sneaked through the town with the air of one hunting for prey, wondering where the demons had gone. It was clear that they had left the city, since the battle was over. She continued to dart through the city, but froze upon hearing a faint whimper.

DeathBabyCharmander's eyes darted around the bloodstained streets and fell upon one of the corpses where the whimpering sound had come from. She trotted up to the corpse, and, despite its disfigured state, easily identified it as a Charizard due to its large size and wings. It had turned black from what looked like intense heat, which was unusual considering members of the Charmander family were often heat-resistant. The Charizard was curled up, its tail wrapped around its body and its wings covering itself. Its arms were also wrapped around something, which its head covered. It was obviously protecting something when it died.

DeathBabyCharmander heard the whimper again, and noticed that it was coming from beneath the corpse. The Charmander nudged the corpse's head to the side and pulled apart its arms, and found what it had been protecting.

Three tiny, hatchling Charmanders were curled up beneath their mother's corpse, still alive. They stared at DeathBabyCharmander with fearful eyes, squeaking in fear. They weren't even old enough to talk yet.

The Charmander paused, staring intently at the hatchlings. She then looked up at the Charizard, finding the scene… oddly familiar. She then remembered… She remembered how her mother had defended her and her siblings to the death and succeeding in saving her and her sister, but not her own life…

DeathBabyCharmander snorted. "Foolish Charizard," she said out loud, startling the hatchlings. "She risked her own life for her children's…" She gave a cruel smirk. "A shame it was in vain."

In an instant, she swiped her razor-sharp claws at the tiny Charmanders, ending their lives. The Charmander then casually licked at her bloodstained paws, feeling absolutely no remorse for what she had just done. Once she had finished cleaning her paws, she trotted through the destroyed town as casually as though she had just finished getting a drink.

Once she had gone a distance, she froze once more. She could hear the sound of someone weeping, clear as a bell. The Charmander spun around, growling, but found no one. The sound had stopped as soon as it had started. Dismissing it as her imagination, the lizard continued her trek through the town.

Once she had finished walking through the village, DeathBabyCharmander stared into the distance, seeing a herd of demons stomping into the forest. "There they are…" she hissed, smiling. "Finally, I shall have my revenge…" With a triumphal roar, the Charmander charged forward, alerting all the demons to her presence.

The demons looked over their shoulders and then spun around upon seeing DeathBabyCharmander. They all got into a battle stance, snarling threateningly. A Poliwrath demon stomped forward, shooting a blast of water out of his red-and-black swirled belly. The blast hit the Charmander head on, but oddly the lizard didn't seem fazed at all. The demon stared in confusion, and was instantly sliced into three clean pieces by DeathBabyCharmander's claws. The other demons stared, and then roared, all of them springing on her at once.

A giant Arbok demon lunged at the DeathBabyCharmander, hoping to sink its fangs into her scales. The Charmander, however, acting quickly, swung her strong tail at the demon's neck, snapping it. The demonic Arbok dropped to the ground, dead.

A Raticate demon—probably the one that had slaughtered Scar's herd—charged at DeathBabyCharmander, screeching. It latched onto her tail with its long fangs, but the Charmander didn't cry out in pain like it had expected. Instead, she gave the demon an annoyed look and flung it off of her tail—right onto the horn of a Rhydon demon. The Raticate was impaled through the chest, ending its life quickly.

DeathBabyCharmander grinned as the Rhydon took several steps back in surprise, trying to shake the corpse off of its head. However, because of this, she didn't notice a giant Onix demon slither up from behind her. The rock snake reared back its head and flung it forward, snapping its jaws around the Charmander. It drew its head back upward, swallowing the Pokemon whole.

All of the demons looked up, many of them snarling with anger at their companion for not letting them be the ones to kill the Charmander. Before the Onix could retort, its eyes suddenly widened in pain. Screeching, the demon thrashed around as its stomach area began to glow bright red. Its giant tail smashed some of the other demons around it, killing them. Its screaming intensified, and, finally, its stomach area exploded, sending molten rock and charred innards flying everywhere, killing even more demons.

DeathBabyCharmander emerged from the corpse, eyes wide with delight—not fear. Cackling, she turned to the rest of the demons, who soon began to flee in fear. She chased after them, tearing out parts of their bodies and slicing through them with her sharp claws.

The Charmander sank her teeth into one of the demon's sides and ripped out a chunk of its flesh, licking the black blood off of her lips. The demon fell, and DeathBabyCharmander realized, almost in disappointment, that it was the last one. Frowning, she gazed around her, wondering where PsyChar was.

There was a faint clapping sound from behind her. The Charmander spun around to see PsyChar hovering there, clapping slowly. "Good… very good. I'm quite impressed. You managed to destroy my best demons… very good," he complimented, smiling.

DeathBabyCharmander snarled and leapt at the demonic Charmander, but PsyChar dodged easily. "Ah-ah-ah…" he warned, waving a claw accusingly. "Not here. This is far too messy, hm? Let's find a better place…" With that, the black lizard hovered deeper into the forest, allowing DeathBabyCharmander to follow. The demon stopped once they were in a small clearing, and turned around. "Don't attack yet… there are some things I want to discuss with you."

The Charmander didn't listen, however, and leapt at PsyChar anyway. The demon, irritated, swung his tail at her, causing DeathBabyCharmander to tumble back to the ground. "I said don't attack yet, d it! Now listen…"

The lizard shook herself and stood up, glaring intently at PsyChar.

"Good. I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't attack earlier, am I correct?" DeathBabyCharmander said nothing. "Of course you are. You see… I wanted you to grow in strength. You could not activate your Rage form for the first time for two reasons… First of all, you were not strong enough. I had to wait fourteen years for you to get as strong as you needed, but that will soon be worth the wait. Second of all, a traumatic situation was needed to set you off. That way it was easier for you to not only lose control, but to follow your 'dark side'. I see my attack on your precious town worked. Not only did you get into your Death form, but you willingly approached me.

"Now that you know why I have done this… I believe it is time for a battle to ensue. So go ahead and attack me, b!#$." With that, PsyChar spread out his arms, allowing himself to be a clear target for DeathBabyCharmander. The little lizard took this chance, and leapt at her foe, ready to tear him limb-from-limb.

At the last second, PsyChar smacked her with his claws, causing her to come tumbling to the ground. "You idiot. Do you truly think I would allow you a clear first shot?" the demon spat. "I'm not going to waste time with a battle… I want that power, and I want it _now!_"

Before DeathBabyCharmander could move, PsyChar darted towards her, his claws reaching towards her head, his red and black eyes staring into her own. She couldn't look away… his eyes were almost hypnotizing to stare into. She couldn't move, but she didn't want to, anyway. Why would she want to look away from his beautiful eyes…?

PsyChar chuckled as he made swirling movements with his claws, causing dark energy to pour off of DeathBabyCharmander's scales and into his palm. He closed his eyes, absorbing the energy. As he became stronger, the Charmander slowly became weaker. Her red scales were starting to fade into a pink color, then orange, while her black underside slowly turned yellow. Her claws and fangs shrunk, while her spikes retreated back into her spine. Finally, her black tail flame turned red and yellow, and her eyes reverted back into their normal colors.

Meanwhile, PsyChar was slowly starting to grow bigger. His fangs and claws grew in length and sharpness, while his scales grew in toughness. Two lumps appeared on his shoulders and began to grow larger and larger, until they burst and became a pair of bat-like wings. Once the power had finished transferring, BabyCharmander collapsed to the ground while PsyChar burst into maniacal laughter.

"_I'VE DONE IT!_" he shrieked. "_I AM THE MOST POWERFUL DEMON THERE IS!_"

BabyCharmander lay on the ground, in shock as she remembered what she had done earlier. She had lashed out at Scar and Luke, she had outright _slaughtered_ three innocent Charmanders, and she drank the blood of her own kind… "Wh-what have I _done?_" she cried, burying her head in her paws.

PsyChar's laughter ended and he gazed down at the creature beneath him. "You've done exactly what I wanted you to, that's what… Now that I have your power, I'm afraid I have no more use for you… Farewell, BabyCharmander… You have been a nice asset…" He drew his head back, charging up a black fireball. That must have been what killed the mother Charizard before… and now it was going to kill BabyCharmander…

The Charmander looked up at the demon hovering over her, and covered her face in her paws once more. She whipped her tail around herself, getting into a defensive position, even though she knew it would do her no good. She heard the fireball shoot out of PsyChar's mouth and awaited her death.

Just then, she heard the strangest sound. It was like the screech of a bird, mixed with the howl of a cat.

The fireball never hit her. BabyCharmander looked up in confusion to see two giant, golden wings covering her, defending her from the black hellfire.

"Ifyou so much as _touch_ her, I will send you back to Hell" a familiar, echoing voice stated firmly.

BabyCharmander gasped.

"_Bartholomew?_" BabyCharmander exclaimed, hardly believing her eyes. "M-m-mur… Is it really you?" The wings unwrapped themselves so that the Charmander could see Bartholomew looking down at her. His eyes were full of a mix of both joy and sorrow, while the fur beneath them was tearstained. The little lizard ducked down slightly. "You were the one I heard crying…"

"Indeed," Bartholomew stated, frowning. He changed the subject. "I am not sorry for leaving, but I am very happy to be back, BabyCharmander."

"I'm glad to see you again too, mur," BabyCharmander said, smiling up into her mentor's eyes.

"Well, well, well… what's this?" PsyChar questioned, smirking in amusement. Oddly enough, he wasn't afraid of Bartholomew this time. "Father and daughter united again? I think not…" Bartholomew said nothing, so BabyCharmander held her tongue as well. "You know very well that she is not your daughter, Bartholomew."

"Indeed," was all that the Mew said.

"Then why are you treating her as such?" The demon's grin widened, showing his dangerously sharp fangs.

"Because my Master has told me to defend her," Bartholomew answered. "I shall do whatever my Master says."

"You shall? Very well, then, you simple-minded puppet… defend her from _this._" PsyChar flew suddenly at BabyCharmander, claws outstretched.

Bartholomew reacted quickly, wrapping his wings around BabyCharmander once more. The little lizard gasped as she saw the tips of PsyChar's claws slide through the wings, and heard her guardian angel give a cry of pain. Wait… how could Bartholomew feel pain? He was already dead! How could you hurt the dead? Was PsyChar really strong enough to even hurt a spirit…?

As though PsyChar had read her thoughts, the demon said, "Hm… It looks as though I _am _strong enough to finally attack you… So get up, you b!#$, and fight me!" PsyChar laughed.

Bartholomew said nothing, but continued to glare at the demon. He glanced up at the sky for a moment, as though awaiting a response. BabyCharmander knew what this meant. He was receiving a message from the Creator Himself… but what was the Creator saying?

"My Creator orders me to fight you," the Mew said, unfolding his wings once more. "But you shall not attack BabyCharmander whilst we fight. Understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" PsyChar returned, sounding bored. "Now let's get on with the fight! I've always wondered how an angel dies…"

With that, the angel and the demon flew high into the air, over the forest. BabyCharmander noticed a large burnt mark on one of Bartholomew's wings where the dark flame must have hit.

PsyChar was the first to lash out with an attack. He spat out a good-sized fireball, but Bartholomew was quick enough to cover his face with his top row of wings. The wings then drooped, hanging limply from the Mew's shoulders.

Bartholomew winced in pain, but whipped his tail around one of PsyChar's legs. The angel then swung PsyChar around and around and threw him to the ground. The demon, however, quickly got to his feet. He then glanced over at BabyCharmander, grinning.

"Stay away from her!" Bartholomew yelled. "You remember what I said!"

PsyChar scowled at the angel and swooped back into the air. "You sure as h aren't her father, you know, unless you !#$ed a Charizard or something." The demon smirked in amusement. "Did your 'Creator' tell you to do that?"

Bartholomew didn't reply, but swung one of his wings powerfully at PsyChar. He ended up hitting the demon in the chest, where a purple bruise formed. The angel then charged forward, preparing to ram into the demonic Charmander.

PsyChar grabbed the Mew's shoulders to prevent him from going any further, and dug his claws through the angel's robes. "You know, I always wondered why I never admired your will to fight, Bartholomew," he stated casually. "I mean, you fight so well… and you are quite strong, though I am much stronger and fight much better… But you fight when you know you can't win. I wondered why I never admired that, but then I remembered…"

Bartholomew jerked backwards, glaring at PsyChar as silvery blood dripped down his shoulders. "What did you remember?" he growled.

"I remembered that you will never stop fighting, unless one certain thing happened…" PsyChar stated, and he suddenly went into a dive downwards towards BabyCharmander.

Bartholomew's eyes widened, and he quickly darted down in front of PsyChar before the demon could reach the Charmander.

"**NO!**" BabyCharmander screamed.

PsyChar's claws pierced right through Bartholomew's robes and into the Mew's chest. "You will stop fighting whenever someone you love is attacked, and will instantly come to their rescue…" He twirled his claws around inside the angel for a bit, causing excruciating pain. "…thus giving up the battle and letting yourself be killed."

Bartholomew's eyes were wide and unfocused in both shock and pain. He slowly started to slide out of PsyChar's grasp, and then spiraled violently to the ground.

There he remained, unmoving.


	17. Epilogue

_No. No. No. No. That didn't happen. No. No. It's impossible. That didn't happen. That didn't happen!_

BabyCharmander stared at the form that lay before her, eyes wide in shock. She didn't hear PsyChar's maniacal laughter as he hovered over them, holding out his silver-covered claws triumphantly. She didn't hear the mournful wind passing through the clearing. No sounds occurred to her aside from her heart thudding against her rib cage.

Everything appeared to be in slow motion as she walked towards the crumpled mass in front of her. She slowly reached down and felt the burnt feathers of Bartholomew's wings. The Charmander carefully pulled them aside and found her old mentor's blank face staring up at her. He did not speak. He did not breathe. He did not even move.

Bartholomew was clearly dead.

BabyCharmander stood there, staring in disbelief at the corpse. It felt like a dream, or rather, a nightmare, in which one would find himself in a horrible situation. They are hurt horribly, a loved one dies, or something terrible happens. It all goes on in a sort of… detached way, however… like it's not really happening, which, of course, it's not.

That's how the whole situation felt to BabyCharmander. It felt like it wasn't real. This was just a horrible, horrible nightmare, and she would wake up in her nest to find Luke proclaiming his love for her and SisterSquirtle shouting mispronounced insults at the Charmeleon.

As any one knows, there is only one way to tell whether you're dreaming or not. Without looking away from Bartholomew's body, BabyCharmander reached out her claws and tore them across her arm, hoping that nothing would happen and that this nightmare would finally end. Blood flowed from the three rips in her scales and pain erupted from her arm.

It wasn't a dream.

The demons had destroyed the village. John was dead. BabyCharmander had killed innocent hatchlings. PsyChar had become the most powerful demon there ever was. And now… Bartholomew was gone.

BabyCharmander dropped to the ground in complete shock. It was all real… PsyChar would kill her or worse, and then do what he pleased to the unsuspecting world. She could do nothing about it… nothing…

A familiar flame poured around the distressed lizard, causing her to change into RageBabyCharmander. The two voices at once began to argue, but before the Pokemon could discern what they were saying, another voice spoke up.

"Why do you sorrow, young one?"

The Charmander jolted upright, looking around. "Wh-who said that?" she whispered. Her spirits rose, and the "good" inside of her began to win the argument. Perhaps the voice was Bartholomew's, and he was alive after all! But when the little lizard cast a hopeful glance at the Mew's corpse, it was still unmoving. Her spirits started to drop again, and the "good" started to sound a little less bold.

"You know me," the voice replied, sounding amused.

There was something oddly familiar about that voice… but it certainly wasn't Bartholomew's, that was for sure. Perhaps PsyChar was playing a trick on her?

RageBabyCharmander looked up, and, seeing PsyChar still cackling madly, knew that it couldn't be the demon. But who was it…?

"Who are you?" the Charmander questioned again, her eyes darting hopefully around the area.

"You must be brave," the voice stated, ignoring the question. "Bartholomew would have wanted you to. I would have wanted you to. Your friends would have wanted you to."

It was then that RageBabyCharmander realized that this voice was starting to override the two arguing within her. This hadn't happened before… why was it happening now?

"Worry not. The Creator is always with you. And I, though you probably haven't realized it, have been with you this whole time as well. I could never reveal myself to you, and I still cannot. But despite this, you now know that I am with you, and should not worry quite so much."

Despite the fact that the Charmander could not see whom the voice belonged to, she could tell that they were smiling. The voice's words began to soothe her, and she felt her "good" side winning the argument again.

"_Now!_"

The voice startled RageBabyCharmander out of her thoughts. It wasn't the voices within her, nor the voice that had been talking to her before. PsyChar had stopped celebrating, and was now hovering above her, his arms crossed.

"Now it is time for me to get rid of you!" PsyChar stated, a faint smile appearing on his lips. "You've been a helpful tool, I must say, but now you are quite useless to me. You know what one does with a useless tool, correct? One does away with it, that's what!"

The demon suddenly dived towards the Charmander, cackling madly again. RageBabyCharmander shrieked, and quickly jumped out of the way. PsyChar landed in the dirt, though it didn't harm him much.

"Don't cower in front of this demon!" the outside voice shouted. "With the Creator's help, you are far more powerful than he can ever be!"

"That guy's wrong!" RageBabyCharmander's "dark" side shouted. "PsyChar is too powerful! You must run, now!"

"No!" the "light" side countered. "Don't run! You can do it this time! Pray instead! Remember what Bartholomew said… pray…"

RageBabyCharmander had to agree with the light side this time. She wasn't in so much confusion now with the outside voice helping her. And what the "good" side had said reminded her of Bartholomew's words before… to never forget what he had told her. The Mew had told her to pray before doing something important… and that's exactly what she was going to do. The Charmander bowed her head, praying silently for the Creator to help her.

"What the !#$ are you doing?" PsyChar snarled, getting to his feet. He observed her for a moment, and then laughed. "Ah, asking your Creator for help? I didn't expect you to be that weak…"

As RageBabyCharmander prayed, she heard her "dark" side's voice starting to grow weaker and weaker. Once she ended the prayer, the voice was gone.

PsyChar winced and took a step backwards as light poured over RageBabyCharmander. The little lizard stood there, eyes shut, and arms hanging at her sides calmly. Her tail lay limp on the ground, curled slightly.

As the light poured around her, RageBabyCharmander's scales began to grow lighter and lighter until they were almost blinding to look at. Her tail flame also turned into a pure white holy fire. Wings gently grew out of her shoulders and flapped once when they were fully grown. Whatever wounds she had were now healing themselves. The Charmander opened her eyes once the light began to fade. They were a bright blue, looking almost identical to Bartholomew's.

RageBabyCharmander had now become LifeBabyCharmander.

LifeBabyCharmander gazed around calmly, flapping her wings casually to lift herself into the air. She looked over at PsyChar, smiling.

PsyChar stared, eyes wide. "Y-you…" was all he could get out. He then shook his head. "You just look like one of those d angels, that's all! You haven't gained any power! I can sense you haven't gained any physical strength at all…" He grinned, showing fangs. Yes, he would surely win…

LifeBabyCharmander shook her head. "No… I haven't." She was still smiling calmly at PsyChar.

"Well, let me guess… You're still going to fight me even though you know you're not going to win, just like that old b!#$ mentor of yours!" PsyChar grinned even wider, his expression maniacal and dangerous.

"No," LifeBabyCharmander answered, shaking her head once more. "I know I shall win. I have not gained physical strength, but one does not need physical strength to conquer their foes."

PsyChar snorted, lashing his tail behind him. "Then what does 'one' need?"

"One simply needs the Creator on their side." The white Charmander smiled, waving her tail behind herself gently. "Now… I believe you wanted a fight?"

"!#$ yes!" The demon beat his wings a few times, flying into the air. "Get up here, coward!"

"Very well." LifeBabyCharmander flapped her wings until she reached PsyChar. "Shall we begin?"

"D right we shall!" PsyChar cackled. He instantly blasted towards the white Charmander, claws outstretched. LifeBabyCharmander flew backwards, still smiling, and avoided the attack. PsyChar growled and dove forward again, attempting to slash at the lizard, who simply flew backwards again. Every time he dove at her, the Pokemon would simply continue to fly backwards.

"_Why the !#$ can't you stay still?" _PsyChar screeched, whipping his tail around in frustration.

"Because unless I don't, you'll kill me. I thought you knew that?" LifeBabyCharmander questioned, giving PsyChar an amused look. "Then again, perhaps the Creator will keep you from killing me. But you know what they say… 'The Creator helps those who help themselves!'"

"Shut up!" the demon snarled. He drew his head back, charging a black fireball. "Even an angel isn't immune to hellfire…"

"Oh?" LifeBabyCharmander gave PsyChar an intrigued look. "Well, if that's true, then I'm sure a demon can't stand Holy fire." Praying silently for help, the white lizard drew her head back as well, charging a white flame.

For a while, the two Charmanders hovered there—the demonic one on one side of the clearing, and the angelic one on the other—charging up their flames. An onlooker would have only seen a great wall of darkness where PsyChar was and a great wall of blinding light where LifeBabyCharmander was as their flames grew.

The two lizards released their flames at the same time, both fires flowing in a constant stream out of their mouths. The Charmanders fought to overpower the flames, but it was LifeBabyCharmander's flame that was winning. The white flame pressed harder and harder against PsyChar's black fire, causing the demonic Pokemon to sweat fearfully. LifeBabyCharmander continued to pray, and once the prayer was finished the white flame burst forward in one strong blast, completely obliterating the black flame.

PsyChar _screamed _in pain as the white flame engulfed him. "**IT BURNS!**" he shrieked, writhing around in the flame. LifeBabyCharmander watched in amazement as PsyChar's wings melted away and his claws, fangs, and body began to shrink. Finally his tail-flame turned back to red and yellow, and the black Charmander dropped to the ground.

LifeBabyCharmander swooped back down to the ground to observe PsyChar, but when the demon caught sight of her he began to stumble away. The black Charmander got down on all fours before blasting away, his tail between his legs in fear. As he ran, he began to sink deeper and deeper into the ground, almost as though he was running down a staircase. Then, only moments later, he was gone.

LifeBabyCharmander gave a sigh of relief and sat down on the ground as her angelic form began to melt away. A white flame engulfed her, and once it subsided she was back to being normal BabyCharmander.

She collapsed to the ground, weeping. All of her emotions—joy, relief, sorrow, pain—poured out at once. She just lay there, sobbing uncontrollably. Finally, when she had cried away all her tears, she turned her head towards the starry night's sky, whispering, "I… I did it, Bartholomew… I did it…"

"I know."

BabyCharmander's heart leapt. Slowly she turned around, hoping that she wasn't just hearing things. Her eyes widened, and her jaw slowly fell open. "B-B-Bartholomew…" she gasped quietly, for the angel was hovering right before her, smiling widely.

"Yes," Bartholomew responded, flying closer to the Charmander. "Did you really think that darkness could overcome Light?"

BabyCharmander embraced her mentor, sobbing quietly without tears. "I-I thought you died, mur…" she whimpered, burying her face in the Mew's side.

"Indeed," Bartholomew answered, hugging the Charmander. "I died years ago. But I did not die tonight."

BabyCharmander simply gazed up at the angelic Pokemon in confusion.

"You cannot kill someone twice. I can make myself look as though I am injured or even dead, which is what I did there. I could have sent PsyChar back to Hell, but I wanted you to do it instead… and I wanted to see how you could handle a situation believing that I wouldn't be there to help you. And you handled it spectacularly…" Bartholomew smiled down at his student.

BabyCharmander, however, did not smile back. She shoved the angel away from herself, crying out, "_How could you do that to me!_" She glared at Bartholomew, tail lashing in anger behind her. "I thought you were _dead!_ My heart nearly ripped to shreds when I saw you drop to the ground! How could you _do _that to me? Had it not been for whoever the _h _it was that talked to me during the fight, I would have just let myself been killed!" She was surprised to hear herself swear like that, but she didn't care at this point.

"But you did not!" Bartholomew shouted, face darkening. "You went into your Life form for the first time, you sent PsyChar fleeing back to Hell, and you survived! You _won! _And you did it all thinking that I was not going to be there to help you!"

"_I don't care!_" BabyCharmander screamed. "I don't want to be with you anymore if you're going to do things like that to me! _Go away!_"

Without warning, the Charmander sped past Bartholomew and through the forest, sobbing loudly. Tree branches cut at her scales while rocks sliced at her feet, but she didn't care. She ran right into a river and quickly scrambled off, only pausing to cough the water out of her lungs before continuing running. Finally she just collapsed, her body unable to take any more strain.

BabyCharmander continued to sob. The pain she felt physically and mentally was overwhelming. She wished she could just die and get it over with. There was no point to her living. Char Town was completely destroyed and nearly four-fifths of its residents had been killed, so the remaining villagers wouldn't return there anytime soon, if at all. If she returned to Ember Mountain to find them, they would probably throw her out and completely reject her. They would hate her for the pain and suffering she brought to them. They didn't need her, anyway; PsyChar was gone, and he probably wouldn't return. Her entire life, she had brought pain and suffering to people; too much to redeem herself.

She mustered up as much strength as she could, lifting her arm and preparing to rip apart her own skin.

"_Stop!_" a voice shouted.

At first, BabyCharmander thought it was Bartholomew, and considered killing herself right there and then just to spite him. She soon came to the realization that it wasn't Bartholomew, however, but the strange voice that had spoken to her before.

"You are not unredeemable, BabyCharmander," the voice stated. "You have done more good than you think. You brought a Light into a dark world… a Light that brings eternal salvation…"

BabyCharmander let her arm fall back to the ground, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Who are you…?"

A tiny spec of light shone at BabyCharmander's side. The spec grew in size and brightness, and eventually a strangely familiar figure formed next to the Charmander. It was like a Charizard… only instead of having two draconic wings, it had four bright, gold, feathered wings. Its scales were pale, but bright, and its eyes lacked pupils, but glowed a faint purple color. Silver robes were wrapped around the strange Pokemon's form. It was clearly an angelic Charizard.

"My daughter…" the Charizard whispered, gazing softly down at the Charmander and smiling.

BabyCharmander's eyes widened. "Mother…?" she questioned.

The angel nodded. "Yes…" It was indeed Esther.

"M-Mother…" BabyCharmander attempted to reach out her arms, but found herself too weak to reach her mother.

Esther reached down, picking up her daughter and holding her close. "Do not kill yourself, daughter… For my sake, please do not…"

The Charmander nodded, sniffling as she hugged her mother. "Th-that was you… th-that was you that t-talked to me d-during the fight…" she whispered.

Esther nodded. "Yes… I could not show myself to you, then, but now I can… but this is the only time. I must leave after this…"

"N-_no!_" BabyCharmander shouted. "Don't leave me, Mother! _Don't leave me!_"

"You will see me again someday, my daughter… when the Creator calls you home…" the angelic Charizard stated, holding the Charmander closer to her. "But before I leave, I have something to request of you."

"Y-yes…" the Charmander whimpered, nodding slowly.

"Do not run away from Bartholomew like that. He was doing what the Creator asked him to do, and you know that all things the Creator does work together for good," Esther explained. "Forgive Bartholomew, and return to the village. You still have to help the people there… They will not reject you, I promise."

"O-okay… I will…" BabyCharmander would do _anything _for her mother. She nuzzled the Charizard, who slowly set her down. "Bye… I-I'll miss you…"

"As will I," Esther said, her smile fading. "But do not mourn for me. Remember, we will see each other again… Farwell." With that, the Charizard spread her angelic wings and slowly flew into the air and out of the forest.

BabyCharmander watched her until she was out of sight. As soon as the Charizard was gone, however, she felt a rush of strength again. She rose to her feet, walking out of the forest and back into the large field, staring at the ruins of Char Town in the distance. Heaving a sigh, the Charmander headed towards those ruins, and finally stopped at what used to be Char Town's main entrance.

The smell of smoke, blood, and burnt flesh was so overwhelming that it was all BabyCharmander could to do keep herself from vomiting. The walls were completely destroyed: the wood that they were made out of lay in splinters all over the town. The grass and wood part of the huts were ashes now, and the stones that also once helped to keep the huts together were either broken or melted. The ground was stained with blood, and carcasses of Chars and demons alike were scattered all throughout the town.

Feeling a slight tap at her shoulder, BabyCharmander turned to find Mark standing next to her. He looked down at her, giving the Charmander a look of both sorrow and understanding. He then turned to gaze at what was once his home, silent.

The rest of the villagers slowly walked up behind BabyCharmander, staring at the ruins of the town. Several of them were weeping, and all of them had at least one tear in their eye. Their homes… their families… everything they had was gone, aside from each other.

One by one, the Pokemon wandered into the village, bowing over the unmoving bodies of their friends and family. They carried the bodies to a nearby hillside, burying them there. BabyCharmander watched this in silence, not sure what to say.

Two other Pokemon approached BabyCharmander. The first was Luke, who approached her with great reluctance. There were bandages made from leaves that were wrapped around his shoulder and chest, and he seemed very hurt—and not just physically.

The second figure was Scar. He was looking in BabyCharmander's general direction, his expression unreadable. He walked up to her side, patting her back lightly with the side of his claw. BabyCharmander gazed up at the Scyther, patting the back of his leg—that was as high as she could reach.

Luke, seeing that his friend was in her right mind, rushed up to her and hugged her tightly, bursting into tears. BabyCharmander knew that her friend had gone through a lot, so she didn't struggle.

The impromptu funeral processions soon ended, and several Chars stood around a single corpse. The rest of the Fire types walked over to see what the matter was, as did BabyCharmander when Luke let her go. They soon found out what the others were staring at—the body of John. A few villagers bowed their heads in sorrow, while several others wept openly.

Mark stared down at the body of the village leader, and, after some time, reached down and picked it up, starting to carry it to the hillside. A few other villagers rushed to help him, while the rest followed.

John was buried at the very top of the hill, and a large plank of wood, carved to look like a flame, was put in front of the grave, marking the spot of his body's final resting place. The Chars stared at the grave, not sure what to do.

Mark broke the silence. "…Someone must become the new leader," he said reluctantly.

The Chars murmured in agreement, but gave no other response. They all stared at each other, expecting someone to step forward.

No one did.

BabyCharmander looked into the sky, praying silently in her mind. Finally, she stepped forward. "…I will take John's place," she stated firmly.

The Pokemon were surprised at this, but they didn't argue. Though they didn't know what had happened in the forest that night, they knew that BabyCharmander had ran back to the village where all the demons were, and that she was standing before them now, alive.

The Charmander stepped in front of John's grave, gazing out at the crowd of Pokemon. "I… I know that what happened this night is a heavy burden on you all…" she started. "It burdens me the most, though, knowing that it was I who caused the demons to come to this town.

"I can't change that, though. No one can change the past. I've made my mistakes, and I can't go back and fix them. I can't bring John back. But… I can take his place. I'm not doing this because I want to—heck, I hate to do this. I'm doing this, though, because it is what the Creator wants me to do.

"Don't worry about PsyChar and his demons… they are gone. I don't know if that's for good, but I do know that they will not be returning any time soon, if at all.

"You may have your time to mourn over lost loved ones… but do not mourn for long, as they are not entirely gone. You must remember that you will see them again… and that you cannot spend your whole life mourning for them. We must keep moving forward… Tomorrow, we will clean up the town, and start anew. But for now… I give you time to mourn."

With that, BabyCharmander walked away from the crowd, leaving them to grieve for their loved ones. She walked back into the empty field, staring up into the heavens.

"The Creator has blessed you with great courage for you to do that," came a voice next to her.

"I know, Bartholomew…" BabyCharmander answered. "Listen…" She turned to look up at the angelic Mew. "I-I'm sorry about what happened earlier, mur…"

"I forgive you," Bartholomew said, wrapping his arm around the Charmander.

The two remained silent for a moment, both of them gazing into the sky.

"…you won't leave me again, will you, Bartholomew?" BabyCharmander asked.

Bartholomew didn't turn to look at the Charmander when he answered. "That… I cannot say."

BabyCharmander nodded silently and with sorrowful understanding.

"I can say this, though…" Bartholomew did turn that time, the Charmander meeting his gaze. "No matter what happens to you… no matter what darkness crosses your path… no matter what terrible events take place… no matter what happens… you are a Light in this dark world. So remember this… in every darkness you must be a Light, so keep your flame burning… keep it burning bright."

_Fin_


End file.
